Sakura's Phoenix
by Inkworks
Summary: While on a mission, Sakura picks up a strangely colored bird with even stranger mannerisms. Thanks to him, she meets several other people from a mysterious place called the Grand Line. Now, she's been tasked with finding all of them to help them get back home. How will Sakura deal with these eccentric characters?
1. Chapter 1

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_Hello everyone, Ink here. This is admittedly my first fanfiction, so not only do I hope you enjoy it, but I hope that I don't mess up. While I do have experience with writing, I haven't got much with writing non-OC/FC types, so I hope everything turns out okay. Anyway, let's begin. I hope you enjoy!_

_Naruto and Naruto Shippuden are created by Masashi Kishimoto. One Piece was created by Eiichiro Oda. I do not own either series, nor do I own any characters from said series. I do own any fan characters that may appear for the sake of the story, and I do own this story itself. Thank you._

_I would also like to note that this story is told from the perspective of the shinobi, so some details about a certain cast member may be obvious to someone who's familiar with One Piece... but the shinobi are not, so those details will come up when it's appropriate during the story. I apologize in advance if this confuses anybody._

_Anyway, on to the story!_

Chapter One

The word Sakura would use to describe her current state of mind was _pissed_. She'd always had a soft spot for animals, so when Tsunade had told her that some traders were illegally capturing and selling rare animals, she had only stayed in the room because she needed the mission form to take care of them legally. Once she'd gotten it, Sakura had charged out of the room, gathered the supplies she'd need and reviewed the mission requirements – rescue the animals, take out the traders – and left Konoha in a blaze of fury.

When Sakura had arrived at the traders' camp, her anger had only amplified upon seeing the cages that were barely big enough to hold the animals in. She'd plowed through the traders and the mercenaries they'd hired to protect them before breaking open the cages to let the animals run free. Now, she found herself standing outside of their leader's tent, ready to crack his skull in, when she heard him speaking inside.

"My, this is an interesting bird! Such wonderful coloration! And these markings… no doubt he will fetch a high price!"

Sakura saw red and plowed straight in, barely taking time to register the sword headed towards her before she grabbed it and crushed it in her fist. She used her now bleeding hand to punch her attacker's face in before turning to the dumbstruck leader of the traders and the cage he was holding.

Inside the cage was a bird that almost seemed to be made of blue and pale orange flames, with markings that almost resembled glasses around its eyes. Against all odds, the bird seemed calm as it looked at Sakura. She felt herself calm down slightly, only for her rage to build up when she heard the leader of the traders speaking again.

Sakura didn't hear his words. She just charged forwards, slamming her fist into his face with a satisfying crunch. The man dropped the cage as he fell backwards, which Sakura caught and set down on a nearby table, tearing its door off. The bird hopped out of the cage, nodding to her in thanks.

"Ah… don't mention it," she sheepishly smiled, turning and making her way towards the exit. She stumbled slightly, catching herself and bringing her hand to her head. Sakura felt dizzy, and when she looked at her hand as she lowered it she noticed her vision seemed to be getting blurry. "What…?"

"Yoi!"

At the sound, she turned. The strange bird was flying over to her, carrying a vial of sorts. It began hovering in front of her, offering her the vial, which she slowly took and examined. It was hard to tell, but it looked like it read 'Antidote'.

Poison. The blade she'd broken earlier must have been poisoned. Why had she been so careless?

"Yoi!" the bird repeated, motioning to the vial she was now carrying. Sakura quickly removed the cork keeping it closed and drank its contents. Before long, she was feeling better as the antidote made its way through her system.

"Thanks," she nodded, tossing the now empty vial over her shoulder and bandaging her hand. "But how did you know?"

The bird looked confused, and Sakura realized why. The leader of the traders had been saying something before she'd punched him. If it was about how the blade she'd broken with her hand was poisoned, this bird would have heard. She cursed herself for being too angry to hear that.

"Where did you find the antidote?" Sakura asked. The bird seemed intelligent, and capable of understanding her words, at least.

"Yoi," was the response as he motioned towards the trade leader. _Of course_. If the people working for him used poison, he would carry the antidote on hand. She really wasn't thinking straight today. Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose to scold herself before looking at the bird again. He wasn't making any move to leave, despite the fact that he was no longer in a cage. Maybe he liked her? She wished she were from one of the clans that could understand animals.

"Aren't you going to go home?" Sakura asked the bird. The bird sadly shook his head. "You... don't have a home?" A slow nod was her confirmation. Sakura crossed her arms in thought. The bird was intelligent, not to mention it had potentially saved her life… She came to a decision. "Would you like to come back to Konoha with me?"

The bird didn't seem to know what Konoha was, but a nod and a "Yoi" indicated that he approved of the idea. He cautiously flew closer, and when Sakura didn't move he settled in on her shoulder. She smiled and scratched under his beak.

"Wonder how Tsunade's going to react…" she muttered under her breath before gathering up the traders to turn in, as per the mission requirements.

* * *

><p>Tsunade could <em>swear<em> she felt a headache coming on as she stared at the bird that was currently perched on her student's shoulder. In her time, she had never seen a bird that looked like him, and to make matters worse she somehow felt like the bird was _wary_ of her, as if he knew what sort of power she possessed. She forced enough focus into her system to listen as Sakura explained how the mission had gone, before handing her the reward money and asking if she could keep the bird.

Tsunade heard herself groan as she reached for the necessary paperwork. Sure, several clans had their own animals, but they were linked through chakra and family bloodlines and a plethora of other things that she _really _didn't feel like thinking about with her massive headache.

It probably didn't help that she was dealing with a hangover at the moment.

Either way, paperwork was still needed if you were going to have a pet that wasn't in some way related to your jutsu, in case something happened to it or something happened to someone _because_ of it. There was also the fact that this bird Sakura had picked up was definitely some sort of rare animal, especially considering she'd never seen anything like it before. That was bound to cause some headaches in the future.

Tsunade stopped writing as she came to a particular section of the paperwork. "What's his name?" she asked her student, who blinked in confusion before looking to the bird on her shoulder.

"Do you have a name?" Sakura asked him. The bird nodded and hopped off of her shoulder, gliding over to Tsunade's desk and snatching up a pen before looking for something to write on. He then seemed to realize that his talons and wings weren't exactly suited for writing with, and both Sakura and Tsunade could swear that he looked upset with himself.

Tsunade took the pen from the bird and put it away, before producing a blank sheet of paper and using the pen in her hand to write out the alphabet for the bird. "All right, point to the letters and I'll write them as you do." The bird nodded, and using one talon, he tapped the 'M' on the paper. Tsunade began to write.

It took about a minute to transcribe the bird's name, and another ten to finish the paperwork. Tsunade sighed as she put it away and handed Sakura her cut of the reward money.

"Congratulations, Sakura," Tsunade smirked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You are now the proud owner of Marco the Phoenix."

* * *

><p><em>And so ends our first chapter. I hope you enjoy it, and I'll see you when I get the next one up, or if you post reviews and such. Thank you for reading!<em>

_-Ink_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_Hello again! I'd like to take a moment before we begin to address a few things. The first of those is whenabouts this story takes place. Admittedly, I haven't been keeping up with Naruto as well as I should be. Periodic checking of updates and hearing my friends freak out about spoileriffic information probably isn't my best source of information, so I don't actually have a specific time frame during the Naruto storyline this is taking place. I meant for it to be at an ambiguous point during/after Shippuden, but based on the way a lot of my friends freak out about storyline elements, I might have to do a proper re-read of the story to get a more precise time. As far as the One Piece half of things goes, it takes place either late or post time skip. I'm definitely more well-versed in that 'verse than the Naruto verse, which I really do need to fix._

_The other thing that I wanted to address was based on a review I got. While admittedly most of the problems with the Naruto half are my own fault, for the reasons I mentioned above, I did sort of intend for Sakura to be making uncharacteristic mistakes due to being upset. I'll try and have her be more in character from here on in, though. As far as Marco's size and not speaking goes... both are to help him keep a low profile. A six foot tall talking bird would draw unnecessary attention to himself. The size I figure he can change at will due to his intricate control of his Zoan abilities, and he's just choosing not to talk. That's not to say he _won't _be talking, though. I plan to have him get speaking lines later on._

_I think that should just about cover things. If you've any further questions, don't hesitate to ask!_

Chapter Two

Sakura unlocked the door to her apartment, and the weight on her shoulder she'd just started getting used to removed itself and flew in as she pushed it open. Once she'd closed and locked the door, put away her keys, and removed her shoes, she noted that her new companion had settled onto the table in her kitchen.

"Well, this is where you'll be staying from now on, Marco," Sakura smiled, though she was clearly exhausted. It was getting late and she'd just returned home from a mission. Granted, it was an easy mission, but her rage had taken a lot out of her. "Tomorrow we'll go find you some proper furniture to rest on, okay?"

"Yoi," was Marco's response. He accented it with an almost gentlemanly bow, and Sakura found herself smiling. Marco was a strange bird, but she liked his company. Maybe Kiba could help her understand what he was saying.

She found herself suppressing a yawn, and looked outside. It was dark, so there wasn't much point in going out now. Sakura supposed she might as well get an early night so she could set out early tomorrow.

Marco moved from the table to the windowsill, and then turned his head to look at his new owner. "You want to go outside?" She could swear that the bird was crossing his wings contemplatively, before he uncrossed them and wobbled one in an approximate 'so-so' euphemism. "You want to be _able_ to go outside," she corrected herself, and the bird nodded. Sakura smiled and opened the window enough so that he could get out if he wanted to, and he gave another 'Yoi' as thanks. Sakura nodded, and this time wasn't able to suppress a yawn as she covered her mouth.

"See you in the morning, Marco," she said, moving into her bedroom to get changed and get some rest.

* * *

><p>When Marco had asked for access to outside, Sakura was worried that he might fly off and not come back. Her worries, however, vanished instantly when she emerged after her shower to find Marco asleep on the kitchen table. She smiled and closed the window, the sound waking the bird. His head lifted, and a wing went to his eyes, rubbing them as if he were still tired. Sakura found herself laughing at the almost human behavior of her companion, and wondered if he'd perhaps been a person who'd been hit by some sort of transformation jutsu.<p>

Her smile instantly vanished when she realized that was entirely a possibility. It wouldn't be completely unheard of for someone to be the test subject for an unstable jutsu, and it would certainly explain his human mannerisms and name.

Sakura rubbed her temples. It was _far_ to early for her to be thinking like this. She needed to get some food into her system so she would be ready for the day. She made enough breakfast for two people (which Marco seemed rather happy about), and once the two had eaten he perched himself on her shoulder and they headed out to the streets of Konoha. Sakura decided that she would just walk around until either they came across Kiba and Akamaru or they found a shop that sold supplies for taking care of birds – whichever one came first.

"Yo, Sakura!"

_Kiba and Akamaru it is._

Sakura turned to face her friend and his giant dog. "Hi Kiba, hi Akamaru," she greeted with a smile.

"Yoi!" Marco greeted, lifting his wing in a wave.

Kiba grinned and began jabbing Sakura in the chest playfully. "So you got a pet, huh? Were you jealous of Akamaru and I?" Kiba took the fact that he found himself face down in the dirt with a sore skull as a 'yes'. Akamaru picked him up by the collar of his shirt, before setting him down on his feet. "What's his name?" he asked, rubbing the spot where Sakura had hit him.

"His name is Marco," Sakura said, scratching under his beak. "I was actually hoping you could direct me to a place I could buy a perch for him, and some other things to take care of him."

Kiba grinned. "Say no more! Right this way!" He began marching down the street, Akamaru trotting after him. Sakura sighed and walked after her friend.

The group chatted while they walked, about how Sakura had wound up with Marco, about Kiba's latest mission, about their mutual friends, and just generally about how their weeks went. Marco dozed off on her shoulder a few times, but a periodic bark from Akamaru brought him to his senses. Before long, the two had arrived at a store that stocked supplies for the ninja whose clans took care of animals. With Kiba's help, Sakura managed to get a perch and a few other necessities for Marco (she refused to get a cage on account of how she'd met the poor bird).

Much to her surprise, Marco carried his own perch, which made her job of carrying the other things much easier, and they returned to her apartment and set up a corner of the main room for him. Once they'd done that, Marco began pecking at the fridge door, and Sakura determined that the bird was hungry. Their shopping trip had taken all morning, so it was no wonder – Sakura herself was starting to get hungry as well.

"How about we go out to eat?" she asked, not really in the mood to prepare something for herself. Marco considered her offer a moment before nodding. "Great! Come on, let's go!" The bird moved to her shoulder again, and she found herself smiling as they left her apartment. Something about his company just made her feel at ease. It was almost like he was protecting her. But that couldn't be right – she was the shinobi, after all. Sakura figured that maybe, being an animal, Marco could pick up on things that she might not be able to notice. Heck, an aerial view might be handy for missions…

She shook the thought away. Marco was her responsibility. She wouldn't let him come on missions with her. Then again, he had helped her when she freed him… Sakura amended her previous thought to the effect of 'Marco will come with me on missions if he wants to come with me on missions'. After all, it could never hurt to have someone watching your back.

Sakura found herself smiling again once she'd sat down at the restaurant and watched Marco devour his meal. He had quite the appetite, and no table manners to go with it. As she ate, she wondered where he'd come from and whether or not he'd really once been human. One day, she figured, she'd ask him. Maybe when they got to know each other a little better. For now, though, their relationship was fine the way it was.

She let out a content sigh. Having an eccentric phoenix as a companion was certainly something she'd never expected to happen, but all things considered, she was happy for his company.

* * *

><p><em>And so ends the chapter! Not much in the way of action or anything, but establishing a few things for both Sakura and you guys to think about. I don't really intend to have this be an action-heavy story, though being shinobi means that there will be a few missions here and there to keep everyone on their toes. See you next time!<em>

_-Ink_


	3. Chapter 3

**_Ink's Notes: _**

_Gosh, people like my story! I'm so happy~! Thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!_

Chapter Three

Sakura heard Naruto's yells from the shower and she knew it was going to be a long day. Due to the roar of the water, though, she couldn't tell what he was yelling about. She figured he was yelling in excitement about the interesting bird that was in her kitchen, so she didn't feel any need to rush, and continued showering leisurely.

It was only when she came out about fifteen minutes later that she realized Naruto had _not_ been yelling in excitement.

"Crazy bird! _Crazy bird!_"he was yelling, running around the room and scrambling over furniture as Marco soared after him, periodically swiping at the orange-clad ninja with a talon or a wing, and when the bird cornered her hyperactive friend he began pecking at his face until Naruto cried mercy.

Minutes later, Sakura couldn't help but feel proud as Marco sat on Naruto's back, pinning the blond to the ground while keeping his hands firmly planted behind his back. Sakura had no idea _how_ the bird had managed to get him into that position, but it was certainly amusing to see him sitting on top of Naruto's back, looking incredibly smug about the entire situation.

"Sakura-Chan," Naruto whined, lifting his head and resting his chin on the floor, "Why didn't you tell me you got an attack bird?"

Sakura took a break from laughing to speak. "Marco is not an attack bird," she wheezed out, before looking to her still closed front door. "How did you get in?"

"Your window was open," Naruto pouted. "I figured it was an invitation to come inside, but when I came in I think I woke him up and he started attacking me."

Sakura fought the urge to facepalm from the stupidity. "Naruto. He probably thinks you're an intruder. If you wanted to come in, you should have knocked on the front door like a _normal _person."

"But Sakura-Chan!" he whined. "I'm a shinobi, not a normal person!"

A few rapid pecks from Marco told Naruto that what he'd just said was _not_ the right answer, and the orange-clad ninja whined out an apology. Apparently satisfied, Marco removed himself from Naruto's back and glided over to the kitchen table. Sakura went to her fridge and took out some leftovers from last night, setting out some for Marco before chewing on her own. The bird happily began eating as Sakura stared down her friend and teammate, who was now sitting cross-legged on her floor and nursing the peck wounds on his face with a whimper.

"So, Naruto," Sakura began once she'd finished eating. Marco finished just after she began speaking, and was now watching Naruto with piercing eyes. "Why are you here?"

"We've got a mission," Naruto explained, shooting a glare at the bird, who outstretched his wings as if asking Naruto to try and attack him. "Kakashi and Sai sent me to get you. We better hurry, or they'll come and see what's taking me so long."

Marco perked up and looked towards the window as Sakura brought a hand to her forehead in annoyance. "Considering how often Kakashi makes _us_ wait, I think they can stand to-"

She was cut off by Marco's familiar cry of "Yoi!" as he turned to fully face the window. Both Sakura and Naruto's gazes followed the bird's. No sooner than they had turned to look, Kakashi appeared on her windowsill.

"Yo, Sakura," he greeted, lifting his hand in a lazy wave before looking at Naruto with his uncovered eye. "Naruto, what's taking so long?"

Naruto only lifted his hand to point at Marco, who Sakura could swear was _glaring_ at Kakashi. This detail was not missed by the older shinobi, whose eye narrowed as he looked at the bird. "And who's this?" he asked, hand already moving towards his kunai pouch.

"His name is Marco," Sakura explained, trying to diffuse the situation. "I freed him during my last mission and he helped me out not long after, so I brought him home with me. Marco, calm down, these guys are my friends. You don't need to try and fight them."

Marco turned to look at Sakura, and she could swear the look in his eyes was saying that he'd fight them if she wanted him to, before he nodded and settled down.

Kakashi hopped into her apartment, and Sakura quickly decided to close and lock the window before all of Konoha decided to come in. Once she'd taken care of that, she sighed and turned to her teammates. Kakashi was examining the wounds on Naruto's face, and Naruto was pouting with his arms crossed, saying he wouldn't drop his guard around the bird again.

"Kakashi. Naruto said we had a mission?" Sakura asked, cutting into their conversation. The two turned to her and nodded.

"That's right. We're to go and protect a village a few days from here. They're being threatened by some missing-nin," Kakashi explained as he passed her the mission dossier. Sakura flipped through it and nodded, passing it back to him. "We'll leave as soon as you're ready." She nodded again and gathered her supplies, heading for the door.

"Yoi!" Marco exclaimed, his tone almost offended. Sakura turned to him in confusion, just in time to see him flying over before he perched on her shoulder and folded his wings across his chest. "Yoi."

"It would seem that Marco wants to come with us," Kakashi said, and Sakura could swear that he sounded amused. "Do you think he can take care of himself?"

Naruto frowned. "I don't think that attack bird needs any protection," he muttered, only to find himself being pecked in the face by Marco again. "ACK- I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Sakura-Chan, call him off!"

Sakura smirked as she opened the door, and Kakashi walked out ahead of them. "Sorry, Naruto, but you brought this upon yourself." Marco seemed to take this as approval of his actions, and upped the ante by scratching at Naruto with his talons. Eventually, Naruto managed to fend him off with a kunai and the phoenix returned to his perch on Sakura's shoulder.

"Sakura-Chan, I think your bird hates me," he pouted as he walked out of the apartment.

"Your own fault for being mean to him," she responded, closing and locking the door after them.

* * *

><p><em>That brings this chapter to a close! I hope I got everyone's personality right here. Thanks for reading, and thanks for all the kind reviews~!<em>

_-Ink_


	4. Chapter 4

**_Ink's Notes:_**

_Hello everyone! I think it's about time we get another chapter up. I'm going to go ahead and warn you now, there are a few original characters that are going to start appearing. Mostly as enemies, but I know some people aren't terribly fond of OCs, so I figured I would just warn you all from now. Anyway, on with the story!_

Chapter Four

Three days.

That was how long Kakashi said it would take them to reach the village they would be protecting.

Three days of putting up with Naruto's hyperactivity, Kakashi constantly reading that book of his, and Sai's blunt and rude comments.

Three days of putting up with these _idiots_.

_Someone kill me now, _Sakura mentally groaned as Naruto began boasting to Sai and Kakashi about some new technique he'd apparently started developing. She blinked when she felt something pat her head, and looked to the bird on her shoulder. He was patting her head with his wing in a comforting manner, and the look on his face said that he knew exactly what she was thinking. Sakura sighed and wondered if he really did, before smiling a thank-you at him.

Kakashi looked up at the darkening sky. "All right, guys, let's set up camp here," he said, lifting his hand to bring the group to a stop. Before long, the group had set up a camp, and they were sitting around a fire. About midway through setup, Marco had flown off somewhere, and Sakura was starting to worry about him.

"Yoi!" he called from the bushes behind them. Sakura turned to the sound, then got up to check on the bird, before letting out a yelp and tumbling backwards onto her butt at the scene she saw behind the bushes.

"Sakura-Chan!" Naruto called, getting up and running to her side. "What's wrong?" Sakura could do nothing but sputter and point to the bushes where Marco was, and Naruto, confused, went to investigate. He stood there in silence for a moment, before turning to look at the rest of his team, blatant shock written all over his face.

"I don't think I want to pick a fight with Marco anymore," he whimpered.

At his words, Kakashi and Sai got up and moved over to where Naruto was standing. They looked into the area behind the bushes that the bird in question was, and saw him sitting on top of a large boar that appeared to have been clawed, pecked and beaten to death, then dragged from some point in the forest around them to its current location if the drag marks and trail of blood on the ground were any indication.

"Yoi," Kakashi could swear that Marco was _grinning_ as he wiped his talons on the boar. He moved over to pick it up, and Marco fluttered off and landed on Sakura's shoulder just as she regained her senses. He seemed rather proud of himself.

"…Marco, did you kill that boar?" Sakura asked, still having trouble believing what she was seeing. The bird nodded in confirmation as Kakashi brought it over to the fire and produced a kunai. Sakura turned to him. "Kakashi, what are you doing?"

"Your bird is rather smart," Kakashi explained. "He killed it in such a way that we would be able to eat it, so I'm getting it ready for us to do just that.

Sakura felt her jaw drop as she turned to her bird again. The bird flew off of her shoulder and landed by Kakashi, watching him carefully. _Marco knows how to hunt?_ she thought in awe, staring at him. Marco seemed to notice her watching him, as he turned and lifted a wing to wave at her. She cautiously waved back as Naruto and Sai sat down next to each other, across from Kakashi. Sai took out a sketchbook and began sketching Marco, while Naruto grumbled something or other about not liking the bird.

Sakura rubbed her temples as she sat down on the opposite side of the boar from Kakashi. What kind of a bird knew how to hunt _boars_? Her thoughts drifted to her earlier suspicions that Marco had once been human, and she found herself wondering if maybe he'd been a shinobi before becoming a bird. But if he were a shinobi, what kind of person had been able to cast a jutsu on him to turn him into a bird? She was getting a headache from thinking about it, and pushed the thoughts aside for now. It wouldn't do her much good to think about it right now- she had to focus on the mission.

The group ate in relative silence, before setting up some wards and turning in for the night. They had another two days of travel ahead of them, so they'd need to get some rest.

* * *

><p>Sakura was woken up the next morning by Naruto, who was yelling about something. She muttered, grumbled, rubbed her eyes and sat up, rubbing her head and opened her eyes, squinting as she scanned the area to see what he was yelling about.<p>

And then her jaw metaphorically hit the floor, as did Sai's and Kakashi's, who'd also been woken up by the loudmouthed ninja.

There, before them and just after the now broken wards, was a man, beaten bloody and unconscious, hands pinned to his back by Marco, who was sitting there looking rather smug. The man in question had messy, brown hair and was dressed in mostly dark colors, and had some sort of forehead protector, but Sakura couldn't see the symbol on account of his face being in the dirt.

Sakura heard Sai rummaging through his things, and looked over just as he produced his bingo book. It wasn't long before he stopped on a certain page and asked Naruto to turn the man's head so he could see his face. A grumbling Naruto complied, and Sai's neutral expression contorted into a frown.

"This man is a B-Ranked missing-nin," Sai said, and all three of his companions stared at him in disbelief, before turning to Marco, who was looking decidedly smugger than before. Indeed, on the unconscious ninja's forehead protector, the symbol for Iwa had been crossed out by a slash mark.

"Marco," Sakura began, her voice shaking. "Did you take out this ninja?"

"Yoi," Marco nodded, and she could swear he was smiling. At this point, Kakashi, Naruto and Sai had begun restraining him properly, and before long he was tied up by three different kinds of rope, with extra care to keeping his hands in a position that he couldn't cast jutsu in. Sakura healed his injuries, but not fully – they wanted him awake, not able to fight back.

At that point, the man began to stir. Naruto turned to look at Sai. "Say, Sai. What does the bingo book say about him?"

Sai looked down at the book in his hand. "His name is Tama Jari. He's originally from Iwagakure. Apparently, he specializes in earth jutsu," he read off, and Sakura looked to Marco, who had settled onto her shoulder again. How had he managed to subdue the missing-nin? She supposed she'd get her answers from the man himself.

The missing-nin, Tama, had woken up at this point. He was alert, taking in his surroundings to determine his current location.

"Excuse me," Sakura cut into his thoughts, and he slowly turned to look at her. "We'd like to ask you a few questions. If you… could… cooperate…" she slowly stopped talking as she saw his previously hardened and alert expression melt into one of pure fear.

"I-I'll cooperate! Just- just keep that- that _monster_ away from me!" he yelped, attempting to scoot backwards, away from Sakura.

"Hey! How dare you call Sakura-Chan a monster!" Naruto yelled, moving to punch the missing-nin.

"Not- not her!" Tama snapped at Naruto, who halted his assault as his expression changed from one of rage to bewilderment. "The bird! That- That _thing _is a monster!"

One punch to the head courtesy of Sakura later, the group was questioning him, with Marco watching from a distance up in a tree so the ninja would calm down.

Sakura was first up to ask a question. "Why did you try to attack us?"

"My group heard that some ninja from Konoha were on their way over to protect the village," Tama explained. He felt a chill run down his spine, and turned to where Marco was perched. The bird was glaring at him, and he quickly continued his explanation. "The village you guys are going to- my group is antagonizing it for resources- they don't have much in the way of defenses, so we thought-" He sputtered uselessly for a few moments before Kakashi cleared his throat.

"Tell us about your group," he ordered. Tama glanced at Marco, who was still glaring at him, and nodded as he swallowed his spit in a gulp.

"We don't tell each other our names for this exact reason-" he used his head to motion to his restraints- "But we have an idea of the kinds of jutsu the others can use. There's five of us, myself included, each who specializes in a different element of chakra," Tama quickly explained.

"So we can rule out running into any other users of earth jutsu," Naruto nodded contemplatively. Sakura nodded in agreement.

"The idea was to be balanced enough to take out any opponent we came across," Tama explained. "If we ran into someone specializing in water jutsu, I would step up to take care of him or her, and so on." Another glance at the glaring bird. "We were planning on building our strength, maybe increasing our numbers, until we were strong enough to take on a hidden village, most likely a small one."

"Why would you want to take on a hidden village?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms with a frown.

"It would have been a sort of suicide run," Tama admitted, looking at the ground. "We didn't have a place to go. If we succeeded in taking over, we'd have a new home and a place to stay. If not, we'd likely be killed in combat and could rest in peace."

Sakura and Naruto somehow felt sorry for this missing-nin. Sai, with his neutral expression, and Kakashi, with his mask, were hard to get a reading off of, but Sakura somehow felt like they could also understand.

"So… you just wanted a home?" Sakura asked, and he responded with a nod. "Then… why did you leave your villages in the first place?"

Tama shook his head. "We each had different reasons, I suppose. Myself, I didn't agree with the way Iwa ran things. Our leader left to pursue a missing-nin who killed his family, and was so blinded by his quest for revenge that he wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone in his path. Before he knew it, he was a missing-nin himself."

Sakura winced, and out of the corner of her eye she saw that Marco somehow looked unbelievably pissed off. She wondered why, only for her thoughts to be derailed as she came to the sudden realization that they now had a problem.

"Guys," she spoke up, drawing all five gazes to her. "What do we _do_ with him?"

* * *

><p><em>And so ends our fourth chapter! I hope you enjoy it. I'm actually kind of liking writing for this Tama dude. Poor guy is terrified of Marco, I kinda feel bad for him. Well, see you next time!<em>

_-Ink_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_Hello everyone! Thank you very much for the kind reviews~! I won't say anything else since quite a bit happens in this chapter, so let's just get right into it!_

Chapter Five

Two days later, as the sun was setting, the unlikely group arrived at the village they were to be protecting. Naruto was at the front, already charging ahead to find a place for them to spend the night, followed by Sai, who said he was going to report to the village's mayor that they had arrived.

This left Kakashi, Sakura and Marco at the entrance of the village, with one additional person standing between them.

Tama adjusted his feet, looking around the village that, up until about two days ago, he'd been targeting with his group. _If he could even still call them that._ They'd likely begun considering him a traitor when he hadn't showed up to the meeting they were supposed to have this morning. He muttered under his breath, thinking back to how he'd gotten himself into this situation.

**_Two Days Earlier_**

_"Guys," the pink-haired woman, who the blond kid had called 'Sakura', spoke up, catching his and the others' attention, "What do we do with him?"_

_"Good point," the silver-haired man pointed out, bringing a hand to his mouth, which was covered by a mask. "He cooperated with us, so killing him would be stupid at this point."_

__Tama was internally relieved. He was glad they weren't going to kill him, at least. Before this, he hadn't known fear. He was strong, and most opponents he could either dispatch easily or give a run for their money. He'd had no reason to think that anyone could defeat him without at least being battered and bruised too much to take him in.__

_That was, until today. He found himself looking at that weird bird for what must have been the twentieth time since he'd woken up. The bird was quietly watching him, though Tama could swear that he seemed angry about something._

_Tama was still having trouble believing what had happened. One minute, he'd been getting rid of the wards that the ninja had set up – they were good work, but he knew how wards worked and could take care of them pretty easily – when the bird had suddenly attacked him. Everything from that point in had been a blur. He'd shot a few earth jutsu at the bird, but the bird had just shrugged them off as they'd gone **through**_ _him, before launching counterattacks. Tama barely had time to react as he was hit with what felt like a wing reinforced by steel, though how that was possible he had no idea. He'd just been recovering from the blow when he caught sight of the bird's wing._

_No, at that point in time, it hadn't been a wing. He was sure he was imagining it, but it was like the bird's wing had turned into a human arm. Then a very human fist had hit him square in the face, and the force of the impact had momentarily blinded him. The next thing he knew, it felt like he was being pummeled by a very human opponent, and a well-placed blow to the head had knocked him unconscious._

_He had woken up to three layers of three different kinds of rope and the four shinobi he'd been planning on attacking standing before him, and that bird…_

_Tama felt that he'd had every right to freak out at that moment in time._

_He brought his attention back to the shinobi's conversation when he realized they were talking about him, trying to figure out what to do with him. The silver-haired one seemed to want to take him to Konoha, while the black-haired man said that they should call ANBU and have them take him back. The blond argued that ANBU would just kill him and they couldn't trust them to take care of him, and the one he was pretty sure was named Sakura was arguing that they should bring him with, since he might still have information and Marco could keep him in line._

_Marco? Was that the bird's name? He glanced at the bird in question, who had just left his perch in the trees in favor of Sakura's shoulder._

_Tama cleared his throat to bring their attention to him. "I'll- go with you," he nervously spoke. "Once- Once your mission's done, you can decide what to do. Say I was captured during battle, or something," he frowned. "Certainly can't go back to my group after having been beaten by a bird, no matter how much of a monster he is."_

_Sakura slammed her fist into his head, and he fought the urge to yelp in pain. "Marco is **not** a monster!" she snapped at him. Well, he supposed that answered the question about whether or not Marco was the bird's name. He whined quietly as Sakura turned back to the group. "Well, that settles it. He'll come with us. We'll keep his hands tied so he can't use jutsu, but as long as he cooperates, we can take the rest of the ropes off." She turned to him, and her features almost became demonic. "You **will** cooperate, won't you?"_

__Tama quickly nodded. As the blond removed the ropes keeping his body restrained, he wondered what sort of a demon this woman had to be to keep control over a monstrous bird like Marco.__

_The silver-haired one helped Tama to his feet, and then positioned him between himself and Sakura. "Well, let's get going," he said, his tone a rather lazy one. "We still have two days of walking ahead of us."_

_He heard Sakura groan, and he almost sympathized with her. Two days of walking with these people didn't seem like it'd be the most enjoyable experience in his life._

**_Present Day_**

"Yoi."

The sound brought Tama to attention, and he looked over at Sakura and the bird. Sakura had already slipped into a loose battle stance and was looking around, and Marco was scanning the area, lifting his wings so he could fly off of his perch at any given moment.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" Kakashi asked, his eye narrowing as he glanced around and his hand hovered over his kunai pouch.

"It's just- I've noticed that just before someone shows up, Marco tenses up and says 'Yoi'," Sakura explained, glancing at the bird that was still on high alert. "I think it might be an animal thing, but maybe he can sense danger and is trying to warn me."

Kakashi nodded, and was debating going to look for anything that might be threatening to them when Marco slowly calmed down, Sakura relaxing shortly afterwards.

"Whatever it was is gone now, huh?" Kakashi asked, and Marco nodded in response. He gently pushed Tama forwards. "Come on, let's go catch up to Naruto before he puts us all in the same room."

Sakura shuddered at the thought, before taking one last look around and hurrying after Kakashi and Tama.

* * *

><p>Sakura found herself sharing a room with Marco while the boys were all sharing a room with Tama. She wondered how they'd fit and how Tama would sleep while restrained, but she supposed it wasn't her problem anymore. With a sigh, she took a seat at a table in the small room, placing the dinner she'd gotten for herself and Marco in front of her. The bird in question happily flew over from his perch by the window, eager for some food. As Sakura set aside his part of the meal, which he began munching away on, she found herself wondering about him. She really didn't know much about Marco at all – she only knew his name, species, and that he somehow knew how to fight and hunt. Sakura sighed, eating her own food, and aside from the sounds of Marco's lack of table manners, they ate in silence.<p>

Once the two had finished their meal, Sakura decided to change into something more comfortable to sleep in. As she changed, she noticed that Marco had turned his head away and lifted his wing to block his view of her. She smirked in amusement, before finishing up and looking at the bird. "Marco, I'm done," she smiled, and the bird cautiously lowered his wing, confirming that she was indeed decent before relaxing his posture.

Sakura sat down on the bed with a sigh. She stared at the phoenix perched on the chair in front of her, who was staring right back. They locked eyes for a moment before Sakura decided to speak.

"How did you get captured by those traders?" she asked.

Marco thought for a moment, then outstretched his wings and flapped them up and down. "You were flying…" Sakura determined, and Marco nodded, before clapping his wings together in front of himself, attempting to mimic a hand sign. "Someone used a jutsu…" He nodded again, then jumped off of the chair and landed on the ground. "Which brought you to the ground, where they captured you?" Marco nodded again, before flying back onto his chair-perch. Sakura thought back to how Marco pinned people to the ground and added, "Is that why you always pin peoples' hands behind their backs?"

"Yoi," the phoenix responded with a nod. It made sense, Sakura thought. If he'd been captured by a jutsu, he'd want to make sure people couldn't use them on him when he had them pinned. Then again, that was a very human way of thinking…

"Marco… what exactly are you?" she asked, all of her previous thoughts about him possibly being human rushing back at once.

Marco tilted his head to the side. "Yoi?" he asked, and Sakura figured that he didn't really understand what she was asking him. She decided to elaborate.

"I mean… you behave a lot like a human sometimes," she explained, "Just… little things, like your mannerisms, and the way you act sometimes, and your fighting skill…" She could swear Marco was frowning. "I've been thinking, with your skill, maybe you were a shinobi that got hit by a jutsu that turned you into a bird…"

Sakura bit her lip as she watched Marco look down. Judging by his reaction, she was right, but she wanted to hear it from him.

"Yoi," the bird nodded sadly.

Everything fell into place. Marco had been a shinobi, likely on some kind of mission, when he'd been hit by a jutsu – likely a forbidden one – that turned him into what he was now. It had likely taken him a while to adjust to his new body, and he'd probably been flying around looking for a way home when he was captured and had realized that any family he had likely wouldn't recognize him. It was likely that he was _still_ adjusting, given his still human mannerisms – that, or he was trying to keep them in hopes that it might turn him back somehow.

"Marco…" The bird looked up, only to find himself being hugged by Sakura. "It's okay. Even if I can't turn you back… I'm still your friend. I'll help you get through this."

Marco seemed shocked, before slowly wrapping his wings around her. They remained this way for a few minutes, before Sakura let go with a smile. "Heck, maybe I can help you learn to speak again," she grinned, to which Marco seemed to smile in response.

"Yoi!" he exclaimed, bringing his wing to his forehead in a mock-salute.

Sakura couldn't help but laugh. Her new pet might have been a human-turned-bird, but he was still her friend. But… maybe she should keep him being human a secret. Who knows what the rest of Konoha would do if they found out?

* * *

><p><em>And so brings Chapter Five to a close. Tama's stuck with the group, Sakura knows Marco's human, and sure enough he will begin talking soon enough. Where will things go from here? Well, I guess we'll find out together, won't we?<em>

_-Ink_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Ink's Notes: **_

_Hello! It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry for the delay, I've been a tad sick, but I'll try not to let it keep me from making updates! I think I might as well respond to a few reviews, so here we go..._

**_Krazyfanfiction1: _**_I feel like breathing fire and whatnot should be limited to the Mera Mera no Mi, so I probably won't have Marco shooting fireballs and whatnot. Although, the "becoming bigger for transportation" is an interesting idea. Maybe I'll find a way to work it in...~_

**_6Lisa9:_**_ Thank you! I'm glad to know I have your interest~ And yes, his 'instinct' is in fact Haki! It's just, no one really knows what Haki is, so they're making assumptions._

**_xlunatica:_**_ I admittedly hadn't thought of that. Either Marco was careful to hit him in places it wouldn't be immediately evident, or when Sakura gave him a minor healing, it might have fixed him up enough so that they wouldn't notice. I get the feeling at least one of them knows more than he's letting on, though._

_I think that takes care of that. Thank you for all the kind reviews, and on to the next chapter!_

Chapter Six

"Say, Kakashi?" Sakura began, catching the copy-ninja's attention. "Do you think Pakkun and the other dogs would be able to help Marco learn to speak?"

Their little group stood on the outskirts of the village. Sai was closest to the entrance, keeping an eye on Tama, who had agreed to warn them if one or more members of his group showed up. Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura and Marco were all close enough that they could get there in a few seconds if needs be, but far enough that Marco wasn't freaking Tama out.

Kakashi turned his attention to Sakura and the bird that had made himself comfortable on her shoulder. For a moment, there was silence, but Kakashi was saved from having to break it by Naruto, who did the job for him.

"Hey, Sakura-Chan, why do you wanna teach Marco how to speak?" he asked, crossing his arms as he stared at the bird. Marco returned the favor, looking entirely too smug for Naruto's liking. He muttered something about not wanting to hear what insults the bird could throw his way, and Sakura gently slapped him upside the head.

"_Because_, Naruto, Marco already understands us, and if we could understand _him_ then he could be a great help on missions," Sakura explained. "He's able to hunt, can scout out enemy camps from the sky, and is highly sensitive to-"

"Yoi!" Marco suddenly perked up, turning towards the entrance to the village.

"-Danger," Sakura finished, sliding into a loose stance as a group of three approached the village. She paused when she realized that Marco had stopped looking at them, and had closed his eyes. Naruto and Kakashi had already gone over to where Sai and Tama were, as Tama seemed to be saying something to them while Sai was flipping through his bingo book.

"Yoi," Marco spoke, in a hushed tone, so only Sakura could hear. She looked to him, and he gently pointed his wing towards the inside of the village. The unspoken message was delivered, and Sakura made sure that the others were occupied before dashing off in the direction Marco had pointed.

* * *

><p>Sai, Naruto and Kakashi found themselves facing off against three missing-nin who seemed to know Tama. There was one man and two women, each looking ready for a fight. The man had pale yellow hair and was dressed in various blues, the first woman had black hair and was dressed in various reds, and the second woman had brown hair and was dressed in various greens. Each of them wore a forehead protector with a crossed out symbol on it, each one from a different village.<p>

Naturo glanced at Tama. "Say, Tama, these guys from your group?" he asked.

"Former group," the black haired woman responded, reaching for an axe that was on her back. "We suspected his betrayal when he didn't show this morning, but the fact that he's here with you secures it."

Tama frowned, fidgeting with the ropes keeping his hands tied. He looked to the ground, feeling somehow rejected.

"Ah, here we are," Sai spoke up, having flipped to a certain page in his bingo book, and marked two others with his fingers. "The man's name is Rai Dendo. He specializes in lightning jutsu." He flipped to one of the other pages as the man now identified as Rai smirked. "The black haired woman is Moya Netsu. She specializes in fire jutsu." He flipped to the last page he'd marked as Moya gripped the handle of her axe. "The brown haired woman is Mizumi Hitaru. She specializes in water jutsu." As Sai put away the book, Mizumi grinned and cracked her knuckles.

"I see our reputation precedes us," Mizumi sneered, sliding into a battle stance. "You guys must be the Konoha shinobi who're protecting this village."

Sai, Naruto and Kakashi each slid into their own stance in response. Rai followed suit, but Moya didn't draw her axe yet.

"Say," she frowned. "I thought there were four of you plus one bird." Tama shuddered at the mention of the animal, and Moya cast a wayward glance at him, but didn't press the matter. "Where's your fourth member and her pet?"

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked. "Sakura-Chan's right-" He turned as he pointed to the space that Sakura and Marco had once occupied. "Eh? Where'd they go?" he frowned, before looking over to the missing-nin they were facing off against. "You didn't do something to her, did you?"

Moya frowned and turned to her allies. "Say, you don't think it's possible that…" She was interrupted by Rai waving her off.

"Bah, impossible," he grinned. "Don't underestimate our leader's abilities." Moya looked worried for a moment, before finally drawing her axe and holding it in front of herself. "All right, kiddies," Rai grinned, practically sparking in excitement. "Here's how it'll go down. We're gonna trash you, take care of the traitor," Tama flinched at his new title, "Then meet up with our leader and wreak havoc. Sound good?"

"Not particularly," Sai deadpanned as he readied a paintbrush and sketchbook.

Naruto frowned as he and Kakashi readied themselves for battle. "I hope Sakura-Chan's okay," he muttered.

* * *

><p>"Yoi!" Marco called as he flew ahead of Sakura, leading her down the streets. Sakura didn't know how he was doing it, but he was somehow avoiding crowds of people and leading her through alleyways so they wouldn't be delayed.<p>

"Are you sure about this, Marco?!" she yelled up to him, and he nodded before continuing along their path. Sakura had figured out some time ago that he was leading her towards the mayor's office. It made sense, she reasoned. Tama had said that his group had _four_ members, not including Tama himself, and only _three_ of them had been at the gate. That left one member unaccounted for, and if them appearing at the gate was just a distraction…

Sakura grimaced. If the fourth member really _were_ targeting the mayor, his or her success would mean that the town would be thrown into chaos. That would let the group of missing-nin do whatever they wanted, take whatever resources they needed… and who knows how many innocent people would be hurt.

She clenched her fists as Marco led her into the space in front of the mayor's office before flying down and landing on her shoulder. "Is he already inside?" she asked the phoenix, and after a moment's contemplation, he shook his head. "Then-"

"Oh, dear. And here I thought you'd all be at the gate."

Sakura spun to face the owner of the voice, bringing her fists up, while Marco jumped off of her shoulder and hovered in the air next to her. They found themselves facing off against a man with spiky blue hair, dressed in black pants, a gray shirt, and a white vest. He was calmly resting one of his gloved hands on a katana that was slung through a belt on his left side, and he was flexing his other hand at his side. The man only smiled at the cold reception, looking from Sakura to Marco and back to Sakura.

"Konoha shinobi," he greeted, nodding to Sakura. "Pet bird." He nodded to Marco. "I trust my earth specialist has been treated well while in your care?"

"So you're the leader," Sakura responded, to which the man replied with a smug grin. Sakura frowned. Trust her luck to land her with facing off against the group's leader.

"That's right. Kyo Tabin, at your service." The grin didn't leave his face as he bowed a little too deeply and too dramatically. As he straightened himself out, he gently tilted his head, eyes never looking away from Sakura and Marco. "Now that I've given you my name, why don't you give me yours? It's only polite," he pointed out.

Sakura frowned, not seeing much harm in it. "Sakura Haruno," she responded. "This is Marco." She gently tilted her head to indicate the bird in question. "I assume you're a B-Rank missing-nin like Tama?"

"Yoi," Marco frowned, shaking his head. Sakura blinked, looking at the still grinning shinobi before her. Marco didn't seem to think he was a B-Rank… then again, how would he know? Maybe he was from the same village? But if he wasn't a B-Rank, and he was the leader of the group, then that would mean…

Sakura paled. "A-Rank?" she asked. A grin from Ryo was her only response. Sakura steeled her courage and tightened her stance.

"You know, there's really no point in us fighting in the middle of the street," Ryo frowned, and Sakura blinked, confused. "From what my wind clones told me, you'll likely worry yourself with keeping bystanders safe, and now that you know what I'm after I have no reason to hang around until I've taken care of you, since you'll just try to stop me from attacking the mayor otherwise…"

"Wind clones?" Sakura asked.

"Ah, yes. I had some wind clones following you when you arrived, but your bird seemed to notice them, so they stopped. Best not to blow my cover, right?"

Sakura took a moment to process this, and then grimaced. "So what are you saying?" she asked, preparing herself for a surprise attack.

"I'm saying we should move to a more open area," Ryo answered, turning away from her. "Follow me."

He moved briskly away, and Sakura hesitated for a moment. What if this was a trap? When Marco began gliding after Ryo, she paused. Even if it _were_ a trap, she couldn't just let this guy do as he wanted. If she didn't follow, she had no guarantee that he wouldn't start attacking bystanders to lure her out. So Sakura balled her fists and began walking after him, picking up her pace so as to not let him out of her sight.

* * *

><p><em>And so ends Chapter Six! ...Yes, I did use Google Translate for the missing-nin's names. I'm admittedly rather nervous about the next chapter, since I don't have much confidence in my ability to write fight scenes, but I might as well give it all that I've got!<em>

_I also won't be showing Naruto, Sai and Kakashi versus Rai, Mizumi and Moya. Sorry to disappoint, but the story is about Marco and Sakura, so I'll be focusing on Marco and Sakura versus Ryo instead._

_Well, I'll see you next time! Thank you for all the kind reviews~!_

_-Ink_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Ink's Notes: **_

_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I am so sorry this took so long to get out! I was nervous about working on this chapter, plus I got really sick and had to spend quite a bit of time recovering, I'm so sorry for the delay! I hope this chapter makes up for it!_

Chapter Seven

Sakura took a look around at their new surroundings. Ryo had led them to a small clearing about a mile away from the village. She idly wondered if the boys were all right, before reminding herself that they could handle themselves and they weren't the ones who were currently facing off against an A-Rank missing-nin. Marco had perched on her shoulder again, and it was helping her relax, but not by much – She'd fought S-Rank missing-nin in the form of Akatsuki before, but she'd had allies, a rough idea of their abilities, and even still it was a tough battle. And here she was, facing off against an A-Rank missing-nin with nothing more than backup in the form of her pet bird.

"Yoi," Marco said, lifting off of her shoulder and flying in midair in front of her. He glanced over his shoulder at her, then motioned with his head in the direction of the village.

"…Are… you telling me to run?" Sakura asked, mostly out of disbelief. He nodded, and she frowned. "Are you crazy?! You may have been able to beat Tama, but a B-Rank isn't even remotely in the same strength area as an A-Rank!" Marco flinched as Sakura began to scold him. "I don't know how you beat Tama in the first place, but I am _not_ leaving you alone here to fight some shinobi that we know nothing about! We don't know his strengths, his weaknesses, or even have a remote inkling of an idea as to how to fight this guy! We'll stand a better chance of fighting him together, not one on one, and even _if _it were to be one on one, I would be the one fighting him, not you!"

Marco recoiled slightly, then seemed to give up and repositioned himself next to her.

"My, so your bird really _was_ the one who beat my earth specialist?" Ryo asked, hand never leaving his sword. "And here I thought that was just a running joke you and your friends were making. He must be some bird to be able to fight a B-Rank missing-nin."

Sakura tensed, bringing her fists up. Marco's eyes narrowed. Ryo gripped the hilt of his sword.

It happened in an instant. Ryo drew his sword, only for it to be intercepted by Marco, who'd shot forward and caught the blade in his talons, keeping him from making his intended action of swinging it in a horizontal arc. Seeing this as her cue, Sakura charged forward, tightening her fist and slamming it into the ground when she was about ten feet away from Ryo. The ground cracked and broke into jagged stones that shot up in a path towards Ryo, and he was forced to abandon his attack as he jumped backwards, Marco releasing his blade as he did so. Sakura grabbed one of the jagged stones that had been brought up by her attack, before lobbing it at Ryo, Marco trailing close behind it. Ryo channeled his chakra around his blade and swung it through the stone, slicing it cleanly in two, but was unprepared for the bird that slammed his wing into his face.

Ryo tumbled backwards, holding his face with his free hand. "The hell…?" he muttered, removing his hand to reveal blood on his face. "That felt like steel…"

Marco didn't let him recover, charging forwards again. Sakura followed his example, but while Marco kept Ryo occupied, parrying sword slashes with his talons, she moved around behind him. Sakura focused her chakra and created a clone, and the clone slammed its fist into the ground, cracking it in a similar way that she'd done before, then dispelled itself. While Ryo lost his balance, Marco attacked from the front while Sakura attacked from behind, effectively sandwiching him.

Ryo stumbled from the force of the blow, before quickly going through a few hand signs. Marco and Sakura were both knocked backwards by a sudden torrent of wind spiraling around him, the wind creating multiple light gashes on Sakura's body and slicing holes in Marco's flames. Sakura shook herself out while Marco seemed to be regenerating, both taking a moment to reorient themselves from the attack, while Ryo took that same moment to compose himself. He gripped his sword, and Sakura saw chakra flow around it before he swung it through the air, releasing an arc of wind at Marco. Marco flew upwards to avoid the attack, before dive-bombing towards Ryo, his height giving him extra speed for a stronger impact. Ryo held his blade ready for the bird, but Sakura shot forwards, grabbing his wrists and pinning his hands behind his back. Ryo struggled against her grip, but she reinforced it with chakra, keeping his hands firmly in place. As she tightened her grip, she heard the telltale sound of bones cracking and Ryo was forced to drop his sword. Sakura kicked it away as Marco got closer, and the bird brought his wings in front of himself. She could have sworn they turned black just before he made contact, but she was forced to disregard that piece of information as she released Ryo's hands and jumped back while Marco slammed both wings into his face. Ryo yelled out in pain, using his now free hands to grip his bleeding face, wincing from his broken wrists.

"What kind of a jutsu is that?!" he roared, squinting through his fingers at the smug bird hovering before him. "Why is a _bird_ able to use jutsu?!" His rage and pain made him oblivious to Sakura making hand signs behind him, and by the time he realized he had two opponents and turned to face her, she had finished them. To Ryo, the environment began to change. Noon became sunset, trees burst from the ground and began wrapping around him, and everything became colder.

Now, Ryo wasn't an idiot. He knew a genjutsu when he saw one. He began to channel his chakra to release himself from it.

But didn't get any further as Sakura and Marco simultaneously pounded his face in as hard as they could, knocking him unconscious.

* * *

><p>Sakura had just finished securing Ryo when Naruto, Sai, Kakashi and Tama arrived carrying the other three missing-nin, whose current condition matched Ryo's – battered, beaten and bruised.<p>

"Sakura-Chan!" Naruto called, charging over to her. "Are you all right? These guys let it slip that their leader was an A-Rank, and – what happened to you?! He didn't get you too badly, did he?!" Naruto began freaking out about her current condition, and she gently pushed him away, then began healing her own injuries. She glanced at Marco, taking a minute to comprehend that he seemed to be able to effectively restore himself _(but then again, he was a phoenix, so she shouldn't be surprised...)_, before looking back to her team.

"I'm fine, Naruto," she smiled. "He actually didn't do that much damage. Marco and I were able to dispatch him with relative ease."

Naruto pouted, crossing his arms and glaring at Marco, who just smirked at him before perching on Sakura's shoulder. Kakashi and Sai secured the four ninja together, before Kakashi summoned his dogs and told them to go and get the proper law enforcement from the town.

"Some bird, huh?" Sai asked, looking over at Marco. "Helping you take down an A-Ranked missing-nin." Marco puffed his chest out, as if he were proud of himself. "Are you sure you can take care of him, Ugly?" In an instant, Sai found himself fending off Marco, with Naruto laughing something along the lines of it not being him for once. By the time the group managed to get Marco to stop, the proper law enforcement had arrived and taken the four missing-nin into custody. When she asked, Sai informed Sakura that Tama would be returning to Konoha with them, and they would talk to Tsunade about getting him some work there as a thanks for his help and cooperation.

"Maa, we'll start heading back to Konoha tomorrow," Kakashi spoke up, cleaning out his ear with a finger. "Let's get some rest for now."

A few murmurs of agreement, and the group was heading back to the village to rest for their trek back home.

* * *

><p><em>Yes, Tama will be showing up in future chapters. I love the little dork too much to just stop using him. Maybe once I have more free time I'll make some sort of story for him? It might be fun, but we'll see.<em>

_Sorry if the fight wasn't really that great. I should probably work on my fight scenes, but then again I also don't really want the focus of this fic to be combat (since Marco's rather powerful and would probably just sweep through any antagonists they face)._

_Well, thank you for reading, and again, sorry for the delay. See you next time, and hopefully it won't take as long~!_

_-Ink_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_Hello everyone! We have a bit of a shorter chapter today, so I was able to get it to you a little faster than I normally am... maybe I'll be able to keep up this pace? That would be nice!_

_This week's chapter is a few short drabbles about Sakura's friends reacting to Marco, but rest assured there are bits and pieces that will be important in the future. Never discount any details you read, that's something I've learned!_

_Anyway, on with the chapter!_

Chapter Eight

About a week after they had returned to Konoha, Sakura was out on a leisurely walk with Marco gliding overhead, observing the city streets from above. She'd been teaching him how to speak, and much to her delight his progress was actually rather fast. It seemed he still remembered how, he just needed help with pronouncing words through a beak instead of a mouth.

"Yoi!" Marco called from above. "Bushy brows large and small spotted, one o'clock!" Sakura flinched internally. 'Bushy brows' was Marco's shared nickname for Guy and Lee, and 'large' or 'small' indicated which of the two he was talking about.

Three days after they got back, word had already spread around her circle of friends and their team leaders about how she and Marco had defeated an A-Rank missing-nin with relative ease. She had been all but ambushed by Guy and Lee, asking if they could borrow Marco for a training exercise. Marco, not seeing the harm in it, had agreed to give them a metaphorical hand.

He had come back at the end of the day looking exhausted and exasperated, and had sworn off of all contact with them for the next few days.

Sakura was about to change their course when the two shinobi in question noticed and approached her. She heard Marco sigh overhead before he flew down and landed on her shoulder.

"Yosh! Good morning, Sakura-San!" Lee greeted, grinning brightly while giving a thumbs up.

"And good morning to you too, Marco!" Guy added, posing in the same way.

"G-Good morning," Sakura greeted, doing her best not to show how awkward this was for her.

"Hello," Marco followed suit, lifting a wing in a gentle wave.

"I see that Marco's speech lessons are coming along well!" Lee grinned. "Would he like to join us for another training session?"

Sakura turned to the bird on her shoulder, who was giving his best subtle pantomime of 'please no I will do anything just get us out of here'. She awkwardly looked back at the matching student and teacher. "Um… Marco and I have somewhere to be in a few minutes," Sakura quickly lied. She hoped the excuse was good enough to get them out of this situation.

"Yosh!" Guy was suddenly fired up, and Sakura could swear she saw flames burning around him. "Let's make it a challenge! We'll see who can get there fastest!" He turned to Lee. "What do you think, Lee?"

"I think it's a great idea, Guy-Sensei!" Lee smiled brightly at his teacher, then turned towards Sakura and Marco. "What do you think, Sakura-San?"

Sakura and Marco were both gone, a log in their place.

"Sakura-San? You can't leave like that, we don't know where the finish line is…"

* * *

><p>Ino had heard from Kiba that Sakura had a new pet bird, so she took some time off from working at the flower shop and all but dragged her teammates over to Sakura's apartment and nearly broke the door down with her incessant knocking so she could meet the avian in question.<p>

She faintly heard Shikamaru mutter 'How troublesome' behind her, but ignored him when a very male voice said to hold on a minute.

"Sakura! Guests!" the voice called behind the door.

"Tell them I'll be a minute!" Sakura's voice was muffled compared to the male voice.

"She'll be a minute," the male voice relayed through the door.

A few minutes later, Sakura answered the door, her hair slightly damp. "Ino! Shikamaru! Choji! I wasn't expecting you!" she greeted, opening the door fully to let them in. The trio entered and Sakura closed the door after them. "Can I get you anything? Something to eat or drink, maybe?"

"Some food would be nice," Choji nodded, and Sakura moved over to the kitchen to get something for him.

Ino scanned the room, not seeing any men. "Whose voice was that earlier, Sakura?" she asked, a sly smile crossing her face. "You're not hiding a boyfriend from us, are you?"

Sakura sputtered uselessly for a moment before getting ahold of herself. "What!? No! That was Marco!" she yelped, pointing to the bird that was sitting on the table before resuming her hunt for food.

"Yoi," Marco greeted, lifting his wing in a wave. "It's nice to meet friends of Sakura who use the door."

"…Um, nice to meet you too," Choji frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

Sakura sighed. "Naruto keeps coming in through the window, despite the fact that Marco pecks him half to death every time he does," she groaned, producing a bag of chips for Choji, who began eating them. "Marco, the blonde girl is Ino, the one with the pineapple hair is Shikamaru, and the one eating is Choji. Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, this is my pet phoenix, Marco."

Marco locked eyes with Shikamaru, and in that moment he felt like they had some sort of spiritual connection and the bird _pitied_ him, though for the life of him he couldn't imagine what or why that was.

Ino spent the rest of the afternoon chatting to Sakura, while Shikamaru and Choji helped Marco practice speaking. When they left, Marco told Sakura that these were his favorite of her friends so far, as they didn't seem nearly as eccentric as some of her other friends. Her thoughts drifted to Naruto and Lee, and she felt herself agreeing with him.

* * *

><p>Hinata wasn't really sure what to think of the bird. Naruto didn't like him, but he seemed nice enough when she interacted with him in passing. Kiba seemed enthusiastic about the bird's presence, while Shino didn't seem to have an opinion of him either way.<p>

She had decided to steel her courage, and found herself knocking on the door to Sakura's apartment. It wasn't long before Sakura opened it, Marco perched on her shoulder as usual.

"Hinata? What are you doing here?" she asked, confused by the girl's presence.

"I, um… I wanted to get to know Marco," Hinata meekly said, fidgeting with her hands. "He… seems nice, but Naruto's always complaining about how he attacks him… and…" Her face flushed, and Sakura smirked, stepping aside to let her in.

Sakura took a seat at her table, and Hinata sat down across from her while Marco hopped off of Sakura's shoulder and landed on the table. "Um… Marco?" she began. "Why do you attack Naruto?"

"Because he doesn't respect Sakura's privacy, yoi," Marco explained, lifting his wings in what Hinata assumed was a shrug. "He keeps coming in through the window and not knocking on the door, ignoring that she could be doing something private when he comes in. Plus, he's a bit obnoxious and loud-mouthed."

"Um… why is that such a big deal?" Hinata asked. Marco stared at her for a moment, before letting out what she could only guess was the bird equivalent of a sigh.

"It makes Sakura uncomfortable, yoi. I won't tolerate people who hurt or make my family uncomfortable."

Sakura seemed as shocked by his words as Hinata was. Marco considered her family? Was she… some kind of replacement for his previous family? Come to think of it, she hadn't really asked him much about his life before he'd become a bird…

Their thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Sakura got up and answered it, and was greeted by Kiba and Shino.

"Yo, Sakura! Is Hinata here?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah, why?" Sakura asked as Hinata made her way over to the group.

"The Hokage has requested our presence," Shino explained. "It's likely she has a mission for us."

Sakura nodded. "All right. Thanks for stopping in, Hinata."

"Um… thank you for having me," Hinata meekly smiled, before waving goodbye to Marco and leaving with her teammates.

Sakura closed the door once they'd left, then went and sat down again. "What sort of mission do you suppose they have, Marco?" she asked, resting her arms on the table.

"Yoi," Marco shrugged. "Probably an important one, though."

* * *

><p><em>And so ends Chapter Eight! As I mentioned, it's a bit of a short one, but we're about to get into something rather important. And as I mentioned earlier, a few of these interactions have things hidden in them that'll likely be important later on. If there's one thing I've learned from One Piece, it's that no detail should be spared! I wonder if you can figure out what's going to come up later?<em>

_-Ink_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_Maybe I should stop saying I'll try and get out the chapter soon, because I seem to take longer when I do that... oh well, new chapter time! Sorry for the delay - a lot of things happened, and there was sickness and such, but I'm on Spring Break right now so I'll probably have time to work on this a bit more - and thank you for all the kind reviews!_

Chapter Nine

When Kiba, Hinata, Shino and Akamaru arrived outside of Tsunade's office, Shizune was quick about escorting them inside. They were greeted by the sight of Tsunade behind a somewhat large pile of paperwork, muttering under her breath as she filled out several forms. This unfortunately meant that the shinobi (and one shinobi dog) were stuck standing there for a full ten minutes before Shizune clearing her throat caught Tsunade's attention and alerted her to their presence in her office. Tsunade quickly set aside the paperwork she had been working on and rested her arms on her desk, looking them over.

"Kiba, Hinata, Shino." A quick bark caught her attention. "And Akamaru." The dog wagged his tail at the acknowledgement. "I have an important mission for you," Tsunade explained. "It shouldn't be too hard, given your respective talents, though."

"You need us to track something, then?" Kiba asked as he began stretching his arms in anticipation. He hadn't gone on a mission in a while, and he was itching for some action.

"Sort of," Tsunade frowned, looking to her assistant. "Shizune?"

Shizune cleared her throat before speaking. "I was visiting the library to check the specifics on a certain jutsu when the librarian approached me," she began. "She said that she thinks she's been hearing someone or something in the library late at night for the past week or so. She decided to make sure nothing had been stolen, and while nothing was missing, when she checked the shelves, a few of the scrolls were in different places than she'd put them. The scrolls in question," Shizune took a moment to compose herself, "Were on Space-Time Ninjutsu."

Kiba recoiled, Hinata flinched and tensed up, and Akamaru whined. "So you think someone's sneaking into the library to research Space-Time Ninjutsu," Shino determined, eyes narrowing behind his glasses.

Tsunade nodded. "I want the three of you to figure out who they are and, if possible, detain them, especially if they're an unknown."

The three shinobi nodded. "Understood," they chimed, before leaving to prepare for their mission.

* * *

><p>"Anything yet?" Kiba sounded impatient as his voice came through Hinata's radio, and for once, she could understand why he sounded so annoyed. The group had arrived outside of the library three hours ago, and they had split up so each of them could find a good hiding spot where they could properly scout for their mysterious intruder. So far, they hadn't seen head or tail of him or her, despite the fact that it was approaching one in the morning.<p>

"My bugs have been checking the surrounding area," Shino's voice responded after about a minute of silence. "They haven't found anyone heading inside. Perhaps he or she went inside before we arrived."

Hinata frowned, closing her eyes and channeling her chakra. When she opened them again, she activated her _Byakugan_, and looked inside of the library, scanning for any sign of anyone. She noted Shino, Kiba and Akamaru in their hiding spots in her near 360º field of vision, but her immediate focus was drawn to the library when she saw a figure seated at one of the tables.

"…There's someone there," she slowly spoke into the radio, and in her field of vision, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru all tensed up. "A man, sitting at a table, reading. But…" She swallowed nervously.

"But what?" Kiba urged her to finish her thought.

"His chakra seems… strange somehow," Hinata explained. "It's… like blue fire flows through his body instead of chakra?" She wasn't sure how else to describe it.

"So it's likely that he's dangerous," Shino concluded. "We'd best bring him in. He could be a threat to the village's safety."

His teammates agreed, and before long, the four had gathered in front of the library. Kiba opened the door, and he and Akamaru charged in, followed by Shino and Hinata. Each slid into a battle stance as they stood a few feet away from the table where the man sat. The lighting was low, but they could still get a good idea of what he looked like, and each one scanned his appearance to try and figure out if he was any sort of missing-nin or other outlaw.

He had tan skin, and was wearing a purple long sleeved collared shirt that was unbuttoned, revealing a rather well toned chest and a blue tattoo that seemed to be a combination of a cross and a crescent moon turned on its side. He wore a light blue sash around his waist, with a belt looped through part of it, and blue jeans rolled up to the knees. He wore sandals that wrapped around his ankles and lower legs, and around his left leg there was a white, feathered band. The thing that stood out the most to the group, though, was his blond hair that vaguely reminded them of a pineapple. Kiba silently wondered if he was a distant relative to the Nara clan.

The man was the epitome of calm as he closed the scroll he was reading, gently pushing it off to the side. He stood up, scratching behind his head as he looked over the three shinobi plus one dog. "Hey, hey, no need for that," he gently smiled. "This is a library, yeah? Fighting here would be a bad idea. We could damage something."

Kiba stared at the man like he was crazy, while Hinata loosened her stance. Shino didn't visibly react, but Hinata noticed his bugs preparing themselves in his sleeves. "Why… are you worried about damaging something?" Hinata cautiously asked, doing her best to remain on guard, her _Byakugan_ still active.

"Wouldn't do me much good to damage something. I just wanna gather what information I can and leave," the man explained, yawning as he did so. Hinata noticed that he looked a bit tired, as if he hadn't slept for some time. "But I guess you guys won't let me just keep doing my research, huh?"

"Your research could very well put our village at risk," Shino calmly pointed out. "We have been tasked to bring you in, as you are an unknown factor and therefore a threat."

Hinata observed the man's strange chakra flare, as if he were preparing to fight, and Akamaru tensed up slightly, but the flare was gone as quickly as it had come.

"All right, fair enough… I was hoping to avoid this, but I guess I have no choice." Kiba heard him mutter something about 'marines' before he lifted his hands. All three shinobi tensed up and got ready to fight, before they realized he was extending his arms towards them, hands in fists. "You'll want me cuffed, right?"

Hinata looked at Kiba, then at Shino, before speaking up. "If… as long as you come peacefully, we… we won't have to do that. But… if you try and resist we will have… to detain you," she explained.

The man lowered his arms. "All right, that's fair. Let me just put this back where I found it." He picked up the scroll, and Shino stepped forward.

"You won't mind if I watch you so you don't try to run away, correct?" he asked, though it wasn't really a question.

The man muttered something which Kiba could faintly make out as 'There goes that idea' before nodding and motioning for Shino to follow him. After a few minutes, the two returned, the man resting his hands behind his head.

"Well, let's get going," he smirked, before covering his mouth as he yawned again. Kiba and Hinata exchanged glances.

"Hinata, can you go ahead and tell the Hokage we're bringing our stranger in?" Kiba asked. Hinata nodded and dashed ahead towards her office. "All right, come on. We'll walk there to give the Hokage some time to prepare," he sighed, cleaning out one of his ears with his finger. "Let's go."

The man smiled. "Lead the way."

* * *

><p><em>And that brings this chapter to a close. I think everyone should know who our friend is, but of course the shinobi have no idea just yet. I wonder how this'll play out, hmm~?<em>

_See you next time!_

_-Ink_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Ink's Notes: **_

_I managed to get this one done rather quickly! Things just kind of flowed after the last one, and here we are! I won't say anything else, since I don't think anything else needs to be said. Here we go~!_

Chapter Ten

Tsunade was beginning to consider prescribing herself some headache medicine.

First, Hinata had shown up and told her they'd managed to bring in their stranger without a fight and Kiba, Akamaru and Shino were escorting him over.

Then, the group in question had arrived, and the man had regarded Tsunade with something that seemed to be a combination of caution, respect, and snark.

Finally, she'd decided that she was _not_ in the mood to deal with him at the early hours of the morning, so she'd had Shizune escort him to the cells (to which the man had said something about his current residence being _far_ more comfortable) where he would rest until the morning.

And so morning had come, and Shizune had escorted the man back to her office before leaving the two of them alone, where the man was currently leaning back in a chair, balancing it on its back legs, hands behind his head. Tsunade was having a hard time getting a reading off of him – despite the fact that he didn't appear to be older than thirty or forty, he had a masterful disposition around him that indicated _years_ of experience, and the few emotions she _could_ get off of him seemed to be boredom, calmness (though, she noted, it felt more like the calm before a storm), and just a touch of worry.

Tsunade rubbed her temples before letting out a long sigh. She seriously wished she had a bottle of alcohol to help her get through what she knew would be a difficult session of questioning this stranger.

"All right," she began, staring directly into his eyes to try and intimidate him. "First things first. What's your name?"

The man stretched as he lowered the chair back to its normal position. He returned her gaze, completely unintimidated, before answering. "Edward Newgate."

Tsunade frowned. He didn't _sound_ like he was lying, but there was a bit of hesitation, and a touch of sadness had crossed his eyes when he said the name. If he was lying, then the name probably belonged to someone he was close to, and calling him out on it probably wouldn't be the best idea.

She _really_ wished that she had a Yamanaka here to make the questioning easier.

"All right, _Edward_," she sighed, trying to make it clear that she knew it was likely he hadn't given her his real name without flat-out _saying_ it, "Where are you from?"

"The sea," he responded, his grin indicating that he knew exactly how vague he was being.

"The sea could describe any number of places," Tsunade groaned. "_Where_ _are you from?_" she repeated, her tone making it clear that she would not tolerate these half answers from him.

"I just told you," Edward responded, not intimidated by her in the slightest. "The sea."

"Okay, supposing you _are_ from the sea, how can you not be from a specific place on the sea?" she countered. She hadn't even been talking to him for five minutes and he was beginning to frustrate her to no end.

"Because I don't have a house on any continent," he elaborated in what Tsunade considered the most vague method possible.

Deciding her current train of questions wasn't going anywhere, she decided to go down a different track. "What's your occupation? You don't look like a shinobi." Indeed, Edward lacked a forehead protector of any sort, and he didn't have any pouches for kunai or other ninja tools.

"Sailor," Edward responded. "That being how I'm from the sea, _Hokage-san_." He punctuated the name with a smug grin.

_Oh._ Well, now she felt like a complete fool. Tsunade rubbed her temples, then looked over at the door. "Shizune!"

Her assistant entered the room upon being called. "Yes, Lady Tsunade?" she asked, flinching upon seeing the expression of utter annoyance on her face.

"Would you tell Tama to go and get Sakura?" Tsunade asked, barely concealing her rage through clenched teeth. If she hadn't been, she might have noticed Edward tense up slightly. "And would you get _me_ a bottle of alcohol?"

"Ah… Lady Tsunade, you shouldn't be drinking while you question a-" She was cut off when Edward lifted his hand to motion for her to stop.

"Actually, alcohol sounds good right now," he grinned. "Haven't been able to buy any on account of currency issues. Mind getting me one as well?"

Shizune's head dropped, knowing she was fighting a losing battle. "Very well," she sighed, turning to leave the room.

* * *

><p>Sakura was getting worried. When she'd woken up, she hadn't heard the telltale signs of Naruto being attacked by Marco, even though after she'd showered, the shinobi in question was sitting on her couch and enjoying the leftovers she'd planned on having for breakfast.<p>

"Ah, good morning, Sakura-Chan!" Naruto grinned, waving at her.

Sakura scanned the room, seeing no sign of her phoenix friend. "Naruto, did you chase Marco away?" she asked, going over to the window and looking outside to see if he was flying around in the area. When she saw no sign of him, she turned her attention back to her teammate.

"Eh? Sakura-Chan, I wouldn't do that. He's great stealth training!" Naruto grinned. "Besides, no matter how much I don't like him, you do, and chasing him away would make you upset."

Sakura sighed. Once Marco's speech was good enough, he'd told Naruto to stop coming in through the window because he would never be able to sneak past him, "Especially dressed like that, yoi." Naruto had, of course, taken this as a challenge, and made it a point to try and sneak into her apartment every morning without Marco noticing him.

(It never worked, and Marco was always staring directly at him the moment he came in through the window. Naruto had declared that the bird was "somehow cheating".)

"Then where is he?" Sakura asked, closing her window and turning to face Naruto, who shrugged in response.

"Maybe he left? I mean, he's strong and can talk, why would he need you to take care of him?" Naruto pointed out.

"Naruto! Marco wouldn't do that!" Sakura snapped at her friend. When she saw his confused expression, she continued. "He… considers me family."

Naruto stared at her, obviously still confused. "What?"

Sakura sighed. "Hinata came over yesterday and asked why he doesn't like you. He said that it's because you keep coming in through the window, despite the fact that I could be doing something private when you do. When she asked why that was a problem, he said that it was because it made me uncomfortable, and…" She sighed happily. "He said he wouldn't tolerate people who hurt or make his family uncomfortable." Sakura smiled. She was rather touched that Marco considered her family. It was just a word, but it somehow made her happy.

Naruto looked like he was about to say something else when there was a knock on Sakura's door. She moved over and answered it, before opening it fully.

"Tama!" she greeted with a smile, stepping aside to let him in. He fidgeted a moment, before entering and letting Sakura close the door after him.

Tama had cleaned himself up since they'd brought him to Konoha. He'd gotten a haircut, so his messy hair was now short and neat, though there were a few rowdy bangs on his forehead that refused to cooperate. His dark clothing had been exchanged for a green vest, a light brown shirt, and dark green pants. A Konoha forehead protector had replaced his old one, and was worn proudly on his forehead.

"Hey, Tama!" Naruto greeted with a smile. "You're a Konoha shinobi now?"

Tama nodded. "When you brought me in, Kakashi asked the Hokage to test my skills and see if I could become a ninja for Konoha." He adjusted his new forehead protector. "I'm not allowed to go outside of the village because I used to be a missing-nin, but I'm allowed to help civilians and protect the village in case of an attack. I've also been practicing my range with dirt clones, so I can have them appear anywhere in the village to deliver messages." He paused, and then added, "Though, I still have at least three ANBU following me to make sure I don't try anything."

"That's great, Tama!" Sakura smiled, choosing to ignore the last part. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Sorry, I can't," he frowned. "I'm actually here to retrieve you, Sakura. The Hokage wants you in her office, something about questioning a stranger?"

"Why me?" Sakura asked, gently tilting her head to the side. "Wouldn't Ino or another Yamanaka make more sense?"

"From what I understand, they're all busy. I think Tsunade wants to try a 'good cop, bad cop' with the guy, and if that fails she'll get one of them," Tama explained.

Sakura frowned, then glared at Naruto, who took the hint and headed for the door. She opened it, letting the group outside, before closing and locking it and allowing Tama to lead her to Hokage Tower.

"Say, Sakura," Tama began. "Where's Marco? I didn't see him in your apartment."

Sakura frowned, looking up at the sky in hopes of seeing her phoenix flying around. "He wasn't there when I woke up this morning," she explained. "I think he might have gone out for an evening flight and is just late coming home, but if he's not back by the time I get back from the Hokage's office…"

Tama nodded. "If you'd like, I can help you find him. He's terrifying, yeah, but if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have had a second chance."

Sakura smiled. "I'd like that," she nodded.

The two walked in relative silence after that, before parting ways at the tower and agreeing to meet up at a restaurant for lunch once Sakura was done. Sakura made her way up to Tsunade's office, where she ran into Shizune, who was carrying two bottles of alcohol.

Seeing Sakura eye the bottles, Shizune explained. "One for Tsunade, one for Edward."

"Edward?" Sakura asked.

"The man Tsunade is having trouble questioning," Shizune sighed. "He's answering honestly, but he's being as vague as possible about it, and it's frustrating her."

Sakura briefly sympathized, before opening the door to allow Shizune to enter and following her in, closing the door after them. Shizune handed one bottle to Tsunade, and the other to the blond stranger who Sakura assumed was Edward. She briefly noted that his clothing was odd and he didn't seem to be a shinobi, but something about him felt somehow familiar.

Tsunade sighed. "Sakura. This is Edward Newgate. He's apparently a sailor, and… that's about all I've managed to get out of him. He was sneaking into the library and doing research on Space-Time Ninjutsu." She rubbed her temples. "Do you mind helping me question him? I don't know how much longer I can deal with his half-answers."

Sakura nodded. "Of course, Lady Tsunade." She turned to face Edward, who seemed… nervous, somehow? She pushed the thought away. "So, Edward. Why were you researching those Ninjutsu?"

Edward seemed to be debating internally about something, before he sighed and took a swig of his alcohol. "Just trying to get home," he responded, in a voice all too familiar to Sakura. She froze, processing it for a few minutes. It couldn't be, could it? But… that would explain why…

When she managed to speak again, it was barely a squeak.

"Marco…?"

* * *

><p><em>Uh-oh.<em>

_Hope you enjoyed the chapter._

_-Ink_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Ink's**** Notes:**_

_Hello! Sorry this took so long. There's some stuff going on and I'd rather not talk about it but it seems to be calming down now. At least, I hope. Anyway, this one's a pretty big chapter, so I won't delay you any longer. Hope you enjoy!_

Chapter Eleven

Tsunade's eyes went from Edward, to Sakura, back to Edward, before she voiced her thoughts on the matter. "Sakura. Marco is a bird. Edward is a human. He can't be-"

She was interrupted when Edward lifted his hand and shook his head.

"Lady Tsunade," Sakura slowly spoke as she regained her composure. "I… Marco told me that he was a human who had been turned into a bird. And I recognize his voice. This… this is definitely Marco." Tears began to form in her eyes. She felt betrayed somehow, like he'd only been using her.

"Sakura…" Edward- no, Marco- frowned. He looked upset with himself. "…I was planning on telling you soon. I would never keep a secret from my nakama – my family." He got up from his chair, then pulled her into a hug. "I kept putting it off because I thought you might react this way, and because I knew you probably wouldn't believe me, yoi. I... I'm sorry." Tsunade cleared her throat, and while Marco turned his attention to her, he didn't let go of Sakura. "I'm afraid I don't trust you enough to tell you the full truth, Hokage-san," he frowned, slightly upset because of the interruption. "But I'll give you the basics. I plan on telling Sakura everything, though, and if she thinks you can handle it, I'll give her permission to tell you."

Sakura wiped her tears, starting to feel a bit better. Finding out Marco was able to become a human again on his own, plus that he was apparently researching jutsu in secret, had made her feel like he was just using her as a cover story. His saying he'd been planning on telling her had made her feel a little bit better. Him calling her his nakama – his family – had helped even more. But when he'd told Tsunade that he didn't trust her, and that he would only tell the full story to Sakura, she knew that it wasn't a lie. He was still Marco. He was just worried about telling her something he thought she wouldn't believe.

Marco loosened his grip on Sakura, and she pulled herself out of his arms, allowing him to properly face Tsunade. Sakura herself took a few steps backwards to give him some space. "Basically, my crew and I were attacked by a powerful enemy. He used a jutsu on me, and I wound up in the area." Marco scratched behind his head. "I decided to scout the area as a phoenix, but then those traders captured me. I was planning on breaking out on my own, but then Sakura came in, and… well… turning back to myself would have just freaked her out, yoi. I wanted to keep a low profile so I could get a better grip on my situation." He sighed. "Like I said, I'm just trying to get home. I figured those ninjutsu would be able to help me do that."

"Um," Shizune spoke up, and Sakura jumped slightly, having forgotten that she was in the room due to her emotional state. "Forgive me for asking, but… you implied you could _willingly _change between your bird and human forms?"

Marco looked up at the ceiling. "You want me to demonstrate, yoi."

"If it's possible," she confirmed with a nod. Sakura moved closer to Shizune, and Tsunade began watching him intently, as if hoping to better understand the man.

Marco sighed. "Don't worry. It won't burn anything." Before any of them could ask, blue flames wrapped around his body. Sakura jumped backwards in shock, while Shizune slipped into a battle stance. Tsunade just kept her eyes on the flames as they enveloped the man, watching the form fade within the fire. The flames began to shift, outstretching into wings, forming into talons and a head, gathering and compressing into a body…

Only a few seconds had passed, but where a man had once stood, the phoenix that Sakura had grown so accustomed to having around was hovering in midair. He lowered himself onto the chair he'd once been sitting on.

"As I introduced myself to you on day one," he smiled. "Marco the _Phoenix_."

* * *

><p>"Tama!" The former missing-nin in question looked up upon hearing his name called, turning to face Sakura and the phoenix that was once again perched on her shoulder.<p>

"Sakura! I see you found Marco!" he smiled, shaking her hand. He lifted a hand to Marco, who shook it with his wing. "Where was he?"

"In the Hokage's office," Sakura sighed, rubbing her forehead. She would rather not explain the whole thing to him, but she had a feeling that he'd had a rough idea.

Her suspicions were confirmed when, after making sure no one was listening, he leaned forward and asked in a hushed voice, "So Marco was the one they were questioning?"

"Yes," Sakura frowned. "How did you know that he's… well…" She would have continued, but there were people around.

"The reason I was calling him a monster when we first met," he explained. "When we were fighting, I thought I was imagining it, but his wing turned into an arm, and…"

Sakura turned her head to look at Marco, and he sighed, shaking his head. "I'll explain later, yoi," was the only explanation he gave.

"Admittedly, part of the reason was because I was afraid of him, because what kind of bird is that strong?" Tama pointed out. "But the more I thought about it, the more I kept thinking back to what I thought was a genjutsu of sorts, and how when I was temporarily blinded it felt like I was being attacked by a human and not a bird… I didn't have any proof, so I didn't say anything, but… well…" He looked at Marco. "I don't think they'd keep him around while questioning someone suspicious, nor would they question a bird, especially when that bird is an ally of Konoha."

Sakura smiled. She somehow felt better knowing that she at least had someone besides Tsunade and Shizune to talk to about Marco. Maybe she'd include him on the admittedly short list of people she told his story, provided she didn't think it was too hard to believe.

A growl cut into her thoughts, and her gaze followed Tama's to Marco, who had a wing on his stomach and was looking rather embarrassed. "...Can we get some food? They didn't give me any. I'm _starving_, yoi."

Tama sighed. "If he's starving, can we split the bill? After seeing him eat when _hungry_ on the way back from that mission, I'd rather not pay for a _starving_ Marco." Sakura sympathized, then wondered if perhaps Marco would begin taking missions for the village now that Tsunade knew he was actually a human. It'd make paying for things a lot easier, especially considering how much he could eat.

* * *

><p>Sakura closed the door to her apartment, and Marco left her shoulder, gliding into the living room before he shifted into his human form once again. She had to admit, it would take some getting used to, but he'd told her that he would remain in phoenix form if it made her more comfortable. He just wanted to be a human when he was telling her what happened for some reason.<p>

Once she'd locked the door, Sakura took a seat at the kitchen table across from Marco, who had made himself comfortable but was still fidgeting. She rested her arms on the table, leaned forward, and prepared herself for what she hoped was a story that wasn't too hard to believe. Considering how Marco appeared to be mentally preparing himself, it seemed like her hopes were about to be crushed, but the least she could do was brace herself for his sake.

After a moment, Marco took a deep breath, exhaled, and rested his arms on the table. "All right, Sakura. Before I begin, I just want to say something. You know I consider you my family. I would never lie to my family, because I know that they'll have to learn the truth sooner or later, and sometimes the truth hurts more when you've been lied to for a long time. Everything that I'm about to tell you is the honest truth, no matter how hard it is to believe. I'm going to be talking about things that might make your head spin, might make you question my sanity… but everything I'm telling you is the truth. You understand, right?"

Sakura looked into his eyes, and saw that he was desperately hoping that she did. She responded by nodding and letting him continue.

"All right… I'm just going to get the biggest one out of the way first," he sighed. "I'm not from this world."

The words hung in the air for a moment as Sakura processed them.

"What?" she managed to squeak out. "But- how- you said a jutsu-"

He shook his head. "I lied. It wasn't a jutsu, but it was similar. I'll get to that in a moment, but… do you have a paper and a pen?"

Shaking, Sakura stood up and retrieved the items he'd asked for. She placed them on the table in front of him, and he picked up the pen and began to draw. Once he was finished, he'd drawn two vertical lines in the center of the paper, and four going horizontally across the center of the map, the center two lines further apart from each other than the outer two lines were to the center lines. He labeled the top left section "North Blue", the top right corner "East Blue", the bottom right corner "South Blue", the bottom left corner "West Blue", the vertical divide in the center "Red Line", the two smaller horizontal divides "Calm Belt" and the final horizontal divide "Grand Line".

"This," he tapped the paper with his finger, "Is an approximate map of my world. Everything on this map aside from the Red Line is water. That's how I knew I wasn't in my own world when I arrived."

"But then where do people live?" Sakura asked, already having trouble wrapping her head around the whole thing.

"Islands," Marco explained. "Scattered throughout the blues and the Grand Line are various islands, each with different kinds of climates. It's… hard to explain, and not really necessary, so I won't bother with all of that." Sakura internally thanked him as he continued. "Anyway, partly because of the fact that the world's covered in so much water, but mostly because of a man named Gol D. Roger, there are two main forces in my world." He lifted two fingers. "Pirates and Marines. I'm one of the former." Before Sakura could say anything, he motioned for her to wait. "There's also subsets of each type. Pirates in particular have two types – Morganeers and Peace Mains. Morganeers are the type you're probably thinking of right now, the sort who attack villages, pillage, plunder, that sort of thing. Peace Mains are the sort who hang a pirate flag for the sake of adventure or being free. They generally won't attack people unless they've hurt someone they care about." Sakura felt herself relaxing, and Marco smiled. "As you may have gathered, I'm a Peace Main. Acting Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates."

"_Acting_ Captain?" Sakura asked, and Marco's face slid into a frown.

"Our former Captain, Edward Newgate – also known as Whitebeard, though we all called him Pops – died in a war. As the first mate and First Division Commander, I was left to take charge of the crew," he explained, staring at the map in front of him.

It was Sakura's turn to frown. Edward Newgate was the name he'd used when he was keeping his identity a secret from Tsunade. Now that she knew the origins of the name… it was taking a combination of her willpower and the fact that he was still telling his story to keep her from leaping over the table and hugging him.

"Now, in my world, people don't use chakra, or jutsu, or anything like that. There are three options instead. The first is to train in martial arts, or learn to use a weapon, or some other form of combat that will help keep you safe or allow you to fight. The second is Haki, which is a technique based on spirit and willpower. Haki itself is divided into three sub-types: Armament, Observation, and Conquerer's. Conquerer's is a one in a million chance, and not many people have it, but anyone can learn Armament and Observation."

"Armament? Observation?" Sakura asked, now genuinely curious. If anyone could learn those things, then maybe he could teach her.

Marco nodded. "Armament Haki is like wearing some sort of armor." He lifted his arm, and it became coated in a black color. Sakura stared, recognizing this from their fight with Ryo. "It ups your physical strength, allowing you to both hit harder and defend yourself better. It also lets you hit people using a technique to change the composition of their bodies." Sakura nodded as the black coating left his arm, and he rest it on the table again. "Observation Haki, on the other hand, lets you sense presences and predict an opponent's movements. It can also give you an idea of how strong somebody is."

Sakura came to a realization. "Oh! That's how you were able to tell when someone was watching us, and how you always seem to know when someone's coming!"

Marco nodded. "That's right, yoi," he smiled. "As far as the third option goes, it's about the closest to jutsu people from my world will get. It's why I'm able to turn into a phoenix, and it's also why I'm here."

Sakura leaned forward.

"They're called Devil Fruits. No one's really sure about their origins, though most people say they're fruit created by the devil himself and born from the sea. Eating one gives you incredible powers in exchange for your ability to swim. If you get about waist-deep in water, you become weak and in some cases unable to use your ability, and if you fall into the water you sink like a hammer and are unable to move on your own," Marco explained.

"And people eat those in a world covered by water?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

Marco smirked. "They're really useful, even if they do taste terrible. A lot of Pirates and Marines have eaten them. There are three types – Paramecia, Logia and Zoan. Paramecia is a sort of catch-all category. They give the eater some sort of weird ability. Pops ate a Paramecia that gave him the power to create vibrations. In his hands, he could create earthquakes, crack the sky, cause tsunamis…" Sakura shuddered at Marco's casual description. "The Marines often claimed he had the power to destroy the world, and called him 'The Strongest Man in the World'." Marco let out a happy sigh. "Pops was a great man and a great Captain…"

He stared at the ceiling for a moment, before Sakura gently coughed to get him to continue.

"Right… next is Logia. They're considered the most rare of the Devil Fruits. They give the eater the ability to control, create and become some sort of element. One of my nakama, Portgas D. Ace, ate a Logia type that gave him the ability to become fire. They called him 'Fire Fist Ace'. He was the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division Commander. Logia are widely regarded as the strongest of the Devil Fruits, but anyone with Armament Haki can deal damage to them even if they become immaterial, and since Armament Haki can be infused into weaponry, it can often be fatal for them…"

Sakura understood what he was getting at and decided to step in. "And Zoan?"

Marco nodded a silent thanks before he continued. "I myself ate a Zoan type. Zoan types allow the user to shapeshift, so to speak. They can become an animal, or…" He lifted his arm, and flames wrapped around it until it was a phoenix wing. "An animal-human hybrid. Zoan types get all the benefits of whatever species they turn into. I myself ate a Mystical Zoan type that allows me to turn into a phoenix." He let the flames die down, and his arm returned to normal. "Hence my nickname, 'Marco the Phoenix'."

"I'm… guessing that it's because of a Devil's Fruit user that you're here?" Sakura asked.

Marco nodded in response. "Before he died, Pops was the Captain of one of four Pirate crews known as the Yonko – the Four Emperors. Four powerful Pirate Crews who ruled over the latter half of the Grand Line, often protecting islands they either like or their friends and allies live on." He tapped the part of the map that Sakura assumed he was talking about. "There's a few options when it comes to dealing with the Yonko. The first is to just leave them alone. If you don't do anything to get them upset, then they won't usually bother with you. The second is to fall under their command and become their allies. The third…" Marco sighed. "Is to go against them."

"But if they're so powerful, why would anyone go against them?" Sakura asked.

"Some Pirates are just like that," Marco responded. "Sometimes they want to show the world how strong they are. Some of the Yonko aren't nice people and have angered a crew of Peace Mains in some way. It just depends on the situation. The Whitebeard Pirates, being a former Yonko crew, are a kind of gray area. After Pops' death, we were no longer considered a Yonko crew, since that bastard Teach-" Marco clenched his fists, and blue flames wrapped around them, before he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. "-Took over most of Pops' old territories."

Sakura wondered who this 'Teach' was, but judging by Marco's reaction to him, he wasn't someone she wanted to know about just yet.

"Since we were a former Yonko crew, we could still be attacked as a display of power, but without the consequences of dealing with allies of that Yonko crew. As a result, more Pirate crews would attack us, and we'd have to deal with fighting them off. The latest of those was a group led by a Pirate who ate a Devil's Fruit that gave him the ability to teleport."

Sakura was smart enough to understand where this was going.

"Crews in the New World are strong, so it's not like it was an easy battle. His teleporting made him hard to hit, but I could feel him out with my Haki and managed to wear him down. As a last-ditch effort, he tried teleporting _me_, and the next thing I knew, I was here." Marco rubbed his forehead. "I decided to scout in my phoenix form and see where I was, since if I'd landed on an island in the area I could reasonably call my crew and meet up with them somewhere, but I had no idea what jutsu were or how anything in this world worked, so I wound up captured by traders. That was when I met you." He sighed. "When you brought me here, I figured I'd be able to check around the library and find something that could help me get back home to my family. But the more time I spent doing it, the more I felt bad because it felt like I was using you to do that, so I decided to tell you… then I got caught by your friends, and, well, you know the rest."

Marco had to stumble in order to keep his balance when the table was _thrown_ to the side by Sakura, who closed the distance between them and embraced him in a hug.

"It's okay," she smiled. "I understand. I'm your nakama – your family. Of course I understand." Marco found himself smiling as he hugged her back. "If it means that much to you, I'll help you find a way back. Even if- even if it'll be sad to see you go." She released him, pulling away as she forced herself to smile, despite the tears she felt forming in her eyes. "Because it's important to you, and family helps each other, and-"

"Sakura," Marco's smile didn't leave his face. "How would you like to join the Whitebeard Pirates?"

* * *

><p><em>And so ends this chapter. It got kind of long, and for that I apologize. But we finally know how Marco wound up in the wonderful world of Naruto! Maybe when I have more spare time, I should write a fanfic about the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates forcing the teleport-y guy to bring them to where he sent Marco, but because it was a last-ditch effort, he's not sure where he sent Marco so they wind up somewhere completely different, and end up going from world to world looking for Marco with this teleporting guy being how they get from Point A to Point B to Point Q. Alternatively, I could have them show up at a later date... well, we'll see how things go, aye?<em>

_In other, totally unrelated news, I had a dumb thought about a potential line from either Tobi or Madara when they're interacting for whatever reason. "If you're Madara, and I'm Madara, then who's driving the plane?" ...Yes, dumb, I know, but these sorts of things happen when I'm trying to sleep. Sometimes I worry about myself._

_I think I should just close things up before I start rambling, as I'm prone to doing sometimes... see you next chapter, whenever I get that done!_

_-Ink_


	12. Chapter 12

**_Ink's Notes:_**

_Hi all! Sorry for the massive delay. I've had a little something called writer's block. But something came to me last night, so let's hope it results in something interesting~_

_This chapter's a bit shorter than the others, but mostly because it's just sort of transitionary. Moving from one thing to the next, y'know?_

_...Also, I recently started a Pokémon fanfiction by the name of __**Perhaps, My Desire**__. Feel free to check it out, if you want._

Chapter Twelve

After much deliberation, Sakura had decided that Marco's story was too hard to believe to tell Tsunade the full truth. It wasn't that she didn't believe Marco was telling the truth – far from it. It was just that the things he described would be too hard for anyone who didn't completely trust him to believe. And, after he'd saved her life and fought alongside her, Sakura trusted Marco completely. But Tsunade was still suspicious of him, and to her Marco's story might seem like a glorified lie to try and hide some sinister purpose.

So Sakura had given Tsunade a more believable story, one that matched his earlier abridged version. She'd explained that Marco was the captain of a crew of sailors that delivered valuable cargo to dangerous places. They regularly fought people trying to steal their cargo, which was why Marco was so strong despite not being a shinobi. He'd gotten in the way of a jutsu meant for someone they'd been escorting across the sea, resulting in his phoenix form – and much to his delight, he'd found he was able to change between forms freely. But one day while they were out at sea they were attacked by an S-Rank missing-nin, and that missing-nin used a jutsu on Marco that sent him to a place he was unfamiliar with. Marco had changed into his phoenix form to get information on where he was and how to meet up with the rest of his crew, but then traders had captured him. When he was brought to Konoha, he decided to do some research to see if he could find the jutsu that sent him here, and reverse its effects to take him back to his crew. He'd been doing it in secret because a stranger doing research on Space-Time Ninjutsu would be suspicious, and he was hoping to get home as quickly as possible.

Tsunade had believed her, and said that as long as he helped Konoha he was free to do research on the jutsu, but if he tried anything then she would deal with him _personally_. Sakura said that she understood, and excused herself to fill Marco in on his new situation. Once she had, she excused herself to her room and decided to mentally address the other issue that was now floating in the air between them.

Marco had invited her to join his crew. His _pirate_ crew. His pirate crew that was in _another world_. And the strange thing was that she was actually considering it. Sakura was not an outlaw, by any means. She wasn't the sort who would betray her village, and she felt like if she were to leave with Marco, then she would be labeled as a missing-nin. Although, when she thought about it, if she did become a pirate, she would be a wanted woman either way. But she felt close to Marco, like he was some sort of father figure who would never let anything bad happen to her. Somehow, the prospect of going out to sea, going on adventures, and experiencing a whole different world excited her. Maybe they could arrange it so that when they cast the jutsu to send him back home, it brought her along as well, and make it look like an accident? That way, if she ever decided she wanted to go back to Konoha, she wouldn't be an outlaw, and…

Sakura was thankful when Marco knocked on her door and asked if she was okay. When she told him that she was, he asked if she could take him to the Hokage's office. She'd asked why, and he said that Tsunade wanted to see him for some reason. So Sakura had cleaned herself up, Marco had changed back to bird form and perched on her shoulder, and the two had begun making their way to Tsunade's office.

When they arrived, Tsunade had pointed to Marco and told him to change into his human form. Just as he finished doing so, Lee and TenTen entered the office.

"All right, you three," Tsunade began. "Edward here has offered his services as a potential ally to Konoha until he can get home. I'm going to assign him a mission, and I want you three to help him with it and assess his strength. I want a full report on it when you get back. If he's going to be our ally, I want to know what sort of missions he'll be able to help us with. Any questions?"

TenTen raised her hand. "Lady Tsunade, why is Sakura coming with us? Not that I have a problem with it, but if there's too many of us, won't we be easier to see?"

"Because Sakura is the one who offered his help," Tsunade explained. "It's likely that the two of them will be working together in future missions, so I'd like to know how they work together."

TenTen nodded, satisfied with this answer. "What's our mission?"

Tsunade passed the dossier over the desk to her. "We have an important shipment bound for Suna. You guys will be delivering it and making sure that it gets there safely. The shipment is not to be opened until you arrive, and it may be targeted by some rogue shinobi or bandits, so be careful."

"Yosh!" Lee exclaimed. "You can count on us, Lady Tsunade! We will make sure that shipment is delivered with the power of _youth_!"

Sakura could feel the exasperation off of Marco. She had to sympathize with him, but at least it wouldn't be a trip to Suna with Naruto again. (Although, to be honest, she wasn't sure if this would be worse.) Well, on the bright side, she could introduce Marco to their friends in Suna. Except, she'd have to introduce him as _Edward_, not _Marco_… That was going to take some getting used to.

Sakura sighed. Somehow, she felt like this was going to be a _long_ trip.

* * *

><p><em>Yup, I'm sending these dorks to Suna.<em>

_The problem with having an ambiguous timeline is that I'm not really sure what to do about the whole Neji situation. So I decided to just leave it ambiguous, like the timeline. Is he not with them because he's out on a mission, or because, well, I'd hope everyone knows by now, but I won't say it out loud so I don't spoil it for people._

_Anyway, again, sorry for the short chapter. I blame the aforementioned writers' block. See you next time!_

_-Ink_


	13. Chapter 13

**_Ink's Notes:_**

_The idea that I had seemed to have worked wonders, and I managed to get another chapter out~! I'm rather eager to get them to Suna, but I also wanted to have some character interaction, so today's update features quite a bit of conversation._

_Thank you for all the kind reviews, by the way~! I'm glad you like the story!_

Chapter Thirteen

"So, Edward," TenTen began, "What do you do for a living?"

It was the evening of their first day of travel, and the group had set up camp. Sakura was cooking dinner, and she and TenTen sat across from Lee, who was doing pushups with Marco on his back as added weight. He'd originally asked Sakura and TenTen, but Marco had very pointedly stated that the girls would be too _light_ to provide an effective weight for him, and when Lee was about to say otherwise Marco had shot him one of the most intimidating glares that Sakura had ever seen. After that, Lee had caught on to what he was trying to tell him and quickly asked Marco if he would be willing to do it instead.

Marco adjusted his cross-legged position, which he'd taken so that his weight would be evenly distributed upon Lee's back, and answered. "I'm a sailor, Captain of my crew. We cross the seas, carrying important packages to people who need them. Usually we just stop in port towns, though- any deliveries that need to go inland are handled by shinobi like you guys."

TenTen nodded, and Sakura silently wondered if she would find it impressive that Marco was actually a pirate, or if she'd just be intimidated by the fact.

"And you can fight, right?" she asked, and Marco nodded. "What about the rest of your crew? Do they fight as well?"

"Some of them do," Marco smiled as he fondly recalled his crew, likely still waiting for him somewhere on the Grand Line. "Jozu's more the type to use his fists, but he'll grab anything nearby and throw it if his opponent's the ranged sort. Vista, though, he's great with swords." TenTen lit up at the mention of weapons. "Uses two of them at once. Some people say that flower petals appear when he attacks, so our crew's taken to calling him Flower Sword." Marco grinned. "Personally, I think he's just using a minor genjutsu to mess with people."

Sakura had to suppress a smirk. Minor details like that made his story more believable and people less likely to question him.

"What about you?" TenTen asked. "Do you use a weapon, Edward?"

"Mm, not traditionally," he shrugged, scratching behind his head. "But everyone should either know how to use one or be experienced in physical combat in case they can't access their usual techniques, for some reason. Like, say, if your chakra was sealed?" He glanced at Sakura, who nodded to confirm that this was in fact a thing that could happen.

TenTen let out an exasperated sigh. "I know that all too well. Lee can't actually use chakra-based techniques, so he's focused his training entirely on taijutsu." Marco glanced down at the shinobi who was using him as a weight with a newfound respect. "And our teacher, Guy, makes sure we're up to par with taijustu as well, so if we're running low on chakra or our jutsu are ineffective we can still fight." TenTen hung her head. "I'm grateful, but his training is a bit… over the top sometimes."

Marco shuddered as he attempted to repress the memories of the one time he had agreed to help Guy and Lee train. Sakura noticed his discomfort and quickly changed the topic.

"So, Edward," she let the word hang in the air a moment as she let the awkward feeling of using his fake name get out of her system. Marco turned to face Sakura so she knew that his focus was on her. "Do you think Tsunade will give you more delivery based missions in the future, or will she set you up with other ones?"

"Well, that depends on you guys, doesn't it?" he responded. "On one hand, I have experience with stuff like that," he jabbed a thumb to the box that carried their cargo. At the moment, it was sitting on a wooden sled between them, off to the side of their campfire.

(Marco had insisted on buying said wooden sled before they left the village. Sakura had initially questioned it, but when he put the box on top of the sled to make it easier to transport, she'd thanked him. He'd suggested they take turns pulling it, but Lee had insisted that he would pull it the entire way.)

"But on the other hand, if something happens and you guys determine I'm good at combat, I may get assigned to missions where I'll have to fight." Marco paused, then looked down at Lee, who was still doing pushups. "Hey, maybe you should stop now and save your energy," he frowned.

"But I still have 100 pushups to go!" Lee complained, and Sakura had to stifle her laughter at Marco's dumbfounded expression. TenTen just sighed, used to this behavior. It was at that moment that Sakura finished preparing their dinner, making a plate for herself and TenTen, then repeated the process with Marco and Lee. Marco took this moment to remove himself from Lee's back, and Lee reluctantly ceased his workout early so he could eat.

"If you don't mind me asking," TenTen began, turning to face Marco. "What sort of combat do you specialize in?"

"I'm a hand to hand kind of fighter," Marco responded through bites, and TenTen could only stare in horror at his lack of manners. Sakura was used to it, and Lee was busy eating his own food so he could get back to his workout. "Fists, kicks, headbutts... anything goes on the high seas."

_Especially when you're a pirate,_ Sakura mentally added. Marco took note of the look on her face, and smiled gently at her, to which she smiled in response.

"Y… your manners…" TenTen finally managed to squeak out.

"Hmm?" Marco stopped eating for a moment, wiping some food off of his mouth with his hand. "Oh, yeah. Back on my ship, it was basically a free for all when the food came out. You had to grab what you wanted and eat it as fast as you could; otherwise someone was going to steal it from you. If you had table manners, you lost them. I'll… try and relearn them, though," he let out a small laugh. "No promises."

TenTen managed to force herself to smile, though it was an awkward one that showed just how uncomfortable she was with this situation. Lee, on the other hand, seemed to take this as a challenge, and before long he and Marco were snatching each other's food. Marco was having far more luck than Lee, likely due to his experience in the matter. Sakura facepalmed, while TenTen quietly ate and hoped the two wouldn't start trying to steal from her and Sakura. Five minutes and half of Lee's plate later, the two stopped, Lee grinning that this had "Improved his hand-eye coordination so he would be more efficient with his taijutsu skills", while Marco finished his food and stared up at the sky.

"Edward, what's wrong?" Sakura asked, and Marco adjusted his gaze so he was looking at Sakura.

"Ah, just thinking about my crew," he sighed. "They can handle themselves, so I'm not worried about them, but I miss them. I hope they're not too worried about me."

"Hey, don't worry!" TenTen smiled. "Maybe doing missions will bring you some fame, and they'll hear about it and come looking for you!"

Marco sighed wistfully. "Wouldn't that be great?" he asked, laying back on the ground below him. "It'd be nice to introduce them to all the friends I've made here."

"I'd like to meet them, too. Especially that Vista guy," TenTen mischievously grinned. "I wonder if he'd be willing to have a spar with me?"

Sakura decided to push the topic in another direction for Marco's sake, but it took her a moment to decide where to take it, so she had to wait a little bit before speaking up. "Say, why do you suppose Lady Tsunade didn't have us seal the box into a scroll?"

"A few reasons, I reckon," Marco offered, still looking up at the sky but lifting a finger to count off. "One could be that it's easier to steal in a small form, and if we're ambushed we might not notice someone pickpocket the scroll, but we'd definitely notice them trying to lug away a box." He lifted a second finger. "Another could be that whatever's in there might be something that's either dangerous to keep sealed or needs to have access to at least a little bit of air, and being sealed might not allow that." Finally, he lifted a third finger. "Or, it could be that it's too valuable to risk the scroll being damaged and the contents of the delivery being lost forever."

Sakura momentarily wondered how Marco knew so much about sealing, before realizing that if he were researching Space-Time Ninjutsu, it probably would have come up a few times. She then realized that he had a point, and noted that she shouldn't doubt Tsunade's decisions, since she was the older and wiser shinobi.

Marco stretched. "We all ready to go to bed? Who's got first watch?" he asked.

"Yosh! I will make certain that no nefarious villains attempt to attack us while we sleep!" Lee immediately volunteered, but Marco just gave him a small glare.

"You've been working out nonstop, plus you're on sled duty," Marco pointed out. "If anyone here needs rest, it's going to be you. Working out is good and all, but if you don't give your body a chance to relax, you're only limiting your potential."

Lee nodded at Marco's sagely advice. "I understand, Edward-San! I shall rest so that my youthly energy will be fully restored for the morning!" With that, he immediately began setting up his sleeping bag.

"Right, so Lee's out," TenTen noted, bringing a sweatdropping Sakura and Marco back to attention. "So, what order should we do watches in, and how long should they be?"

"TenTen, do you mind going first?" Marco asked, and she responded by shaking her head. "All right, and… ah, Sakura, are you a morning person?" Sakura thought for a moment, before shaking her head. "In that case, here's what we'll do. TenTen, you take first watch. After about three hours, wake up Sakura, and she'll take the next watch. Sakura, once three hours have passed, wake me up, and I'll keep watch until I think it's a good time for us to continue heading to Suna. Sound good?"

Sakura and TenTen considered it, before voicing their agreement. "All right, don't worry. I'll wake you guys up if something happens!" TenTen exclaimed, bringing her fist up and gripping her elbow with her other hand.

"Thanks, TenTen. We're counting on you," Sakura smiled, before joining Marco in getting their sleeping bags set up.

"Good night, Sakura," he smiled, gently ruffling her hair.

"Good night, Edward," she responded.

As she drifted off to sleep, she could have sworn she heard him mutter something about still not being used to that, but didn't have time to dwell on it as her mind slipped out of consciousness.

* * *

><p><em>And so ends Chapter Thirteen! Nothing bad's happened just yet, but they still have three days of travel, so we'll see how things go.<em>

_...Admittedly I'm having quite a bit of fun writing for Lee. I like writing for dorks. And reading about dorks. Maybe that's why I like One Piece so much. That series might as well be called "Everyone Is Secretly A Dork: The Series". Adorable dorks, all of them. And if they're visibly dorks they're just that much more of a dork._

_...*cough* Yes. See you next time!_

_-Ink_


	14. Chapter 14

_**Ink's Notes: **_

_Okay so I had a super awesome class today and that put me in a good mood which got me writing which got this to appear. Hope you enjoy!_

Chapter Fourteen

Night had passed without any issue, and so the three shinobi plus one pirate had packed up their things and begun the next leg of their journey. They managed to cover quite a bit of ground by picking up their pace, so the group expected to arrive at Suna at around midday the next day.

Or, at least, they _had_ been expecting to arrive at Suna at around midday the next day. When they set out on the third day, they managed to travel half of the remaining distance before they were ambushed by bandits. Sakura, Lee and TenTen all slid into battle stances, but Marco lifted a hand to motion for them to wait before stepping forward.

"Parley!" he called, and couldn't help but smirk as all parties present stared at him like he'd just said a foreign word.

"Parley?" the bandit leader – a woman with her hair tied back in a ponytail and a mask over her mouth and nose – repeated, confused by the term.

"Ah! You agreed to it!" Marco smiled, outstretching his arms. "That means neither party can attack the other until we come to an agreement!"

TenTen stared at Marco like he was crazy. "…You expect them to agree to that?" she asked, already reaching for a scroll that held one of her weapons.

"Maybe it's something that only applies to the seas?" he shrugged. "It's a term that pirates use to indicate that they'd rather settle things peacefully. Sailors have picked it up in hopes of avoiding unnecessary conflict."

The bandits seemed to shake off their shock and got ready to attack, but their leader lifted a hand to stop them. "Parley, huh? That's interesting. So you want to strike a bargain?" she asked.

Marco seemed briefly surprised, but quickly regained his composure. "If it means we don't have to unnecessarily hurt you," he responded.

The bandit leader stared, then chucked, before she laughed for a solid minute. "You think that _you_ can beat _us_?" she managed to gasp out once she'd calmed down enough.

"Well, yeah," Marco answered, completely deadpan. "Your crew's stances are sloppy, you yourself are far too boastful and prone to pause when you come across something you don't understand, and the fact that you don't see us as a threat means you're likely to be caught off guard if we actually start fighting."

Silence draped over everyone assembled. Sakura swore she saw a tumbleweed blow past in the distance. She glanced to her side and saw TenTen suppressing a laugh, before returning her gaze to the bandits around them, who looked rather embarrassed. The leader in particular seemed particularly offended, and so Sakura wasn't really shocked when she pulled out a sword and charged Marco. She was, however, shocked when Marco simply swayed to the side, gingerly dodging the erratic swipe.

"Wha-?" the bandit leader yelped, before regaining her composure and continuing to attack Marco. However, he simply continued swaying from side to side, stepping back, moving about in what could be considered a dance as he deftly avoided all of her attacks. When she realized that she wasn't hitting him at all, she turned to look at her fellow bandits. "D-Don't just stand there! Come help me!" she barked, and the group began pulling weapons to move in.

They didn't get much further than a foot before the combined efforts of Sakura, TenTen and Lee rendered them an unconscious heap of bandit. The leader could only stare, dumbfounded, before turning to Marco and laughing nervously.

"So… um… about that 'parley' thing…"

Her response was a punch to the gut that swiftly knocked her unconscious. Marco gently hefted her up and laid her against her fellow bandits.

"Well, that takes care of that," he said, resting his hands behind his head. "Shall we continue on our trip?"

"Shouldn't we tie them up or take them to the authorities?" TenTen asked, motioning to the unconscious bandits.

Marco thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. "Nah, too much trouble. They're not exactly a threat, and it's not like they'll do much harm the way they are now. Plus, we don't even know if they're actually outlaws or anything. Just leave them here, they'll probably wake up in about half an hour and head home," he shrugged, before turning and pointing towards Suna. "It's this way, right?"

Lee nodded and took charge of pulling the sled, Sakura and TenTen following close behind. "Edward-San!" Lee exclaimed as he pulled up next to Marco. "How did you avoid those attacks so well?"

"Ah… that?" Marco scratched his cheek as he thought of how to phrase it. "Observation, I guess. Watch or engage in enough fights and you learn to predict what sort of moves your opponent will make based on body language."

Sakura determined that he had actually been using Observation Haki, and vowed to make him teach her how to use it when they had some time alone.

The group walked in relative silence, before picking their pace up to a run to make up for lost time. Lee became determined that it was a race between the group, and Marco had to talk him down by pointing out that if he went too fast he might damage their parcel, and that would be – (Marco sighed before saying) – "Very un-youthful of him." Lee looked as if he'd been hit by an arrow before rambling about how foolish he had been to immediately jump to the conclusion that he had, and that he would think things through better in the future.

It was at this point that Sakura wondered how Marco knew exactly what to say to motivate Lee, and TenTen started taking mental notes on how to get Lee to do what she wanted him to do.

As Suna became gradually more visible, Sakura turned to Marco. "Say, Edward," she began as the group slowed down slightly, "That 'parley' term… when did pirates begin using it?"

"Ah… they don't, really," Marco admitted.

Sakura took a minute to process what he was saying. "You… mean you made it up?" she asked, largely from sheer disbelief.

"Well, yeah. Gotta use your head, you know?" he tapped the side of his head with a grin. "Better to get them mad and disorganized in their attack patterns than to let them use practiced precision." Sakura frowned, then lightly punched him in the arm. "Hey, what was that for?" Marco asked.

"That was for lying your way out of a confrontation," she pouted, crossing her arms.

Marco smirked and ruffled her hair. "You're just mad because you didn't think of it."

"I am not!" Sakura protested as the group approached Suna's gates.

* * *

><p><em>And so ends the chapter! ...Lee is way too much fun to manipulate, I don't know why. And yes, the parley thing came from Pirates of the Caribbean. I thought it would be funny to use it, but then I realized that it's never made any appearances in One Piece, so I just had Marco make it up.<em>

_Thanks for reading~!_

_-Ink_


	15. Chapter 15

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_And now it's time for Chapter Fifteen! Again, thank you so much for all the kind reviews, and I'm glad you're enjoying the story! We have a pretty big development in this chapter (the very same one that I had an idea about and mentioned a few chapters ago), so sit tight~!_

Chapter Fifteen

As it turns out, the group had been delivering medicinal herbs to help Suna's healers, and had decided to spend the rest of the day there to rest up for the trip back. Lee had gone off to train, and TenTen had met up with Temari, which left Marco and Sakura to go out and get lunch together.

This meant that it was a perfect time for them to discuss things that they couldn't with other people around.

"Say, Marco," Sakura was glad to be able to use his real name again. "You said that _anyone_ could learn Haki, right?"

Marco nodded between bites of his sandwich. "Mmhmm. It's easier-" he paused to take a bite and chew- "When you have a teacher, though."

Marco saw Sakura's face brighten into a grin, and he knew what she was going to ask before the words left her mouth. "So- theoretically, while we figure out how to get you home- you could teach me how to use it?"

He smiled at her. "Sure. It's an essential skill to have when you're sailing in the Grand Line."

Sakura sputtered, and Marco's smile became a grin. "Y… you're still going on about that?"

"Well, you haven't given me your answer yet," Marco pointed out, before taking a sip of his drink. Sakura looked at the food in front of her to avoid eye contact, and the two were left in silence before Marco decided to break it. "Say, would it be possible for me to learn the basics of ninjutsu? Like that chakra thing, yoi." Sakura looked up to meet his gaze. "I'll need to know how if I'm going to use a jutsu to get back home."

Sakura nodded. "Usually, people can't learn chakra unless they start at a young age…" At Marco's frown, she quickly finished her thought. "But your Devil Fruit might be able to mimic chakra. Justu might work differently for you, but it's better than nothing. We can try a basic one when we get back to Konoha."

"Great," he grinned. "Looking forward to it." He took another bite from his sandwich, before pausing and looking up. Sakura followed his gaze in time to see Lee come charging up to their table.

"Hello Sakura-San, Edward-San!" he greeted, smiling and giving a thumbs up. "Look who I ran into!"

Sakura turned in her seat as Lee stepped to the side, allowing the Kazekage to approach their table. "Gaara!" she greeted. "Shouldn't you be working?"

"I decided to take a break when I heard some of our allies were visiting," he responded, nodding to her. He turned to face Marco. "You must be Edward. Lee's told me about you."

"Really…" Marco sweatdropped, worried about what the eccentric shinobi had told Gaara about him.

"My name is Gaara. I am Sunagakure's Kazekage," he introduced himself. Sakura watched as Marco mentally processed what this meant. "On behalf of everyone here, welcome to Suna."

"Wait, hold up," Marco lifted his hand. "If you're the Kazekage, then shouldn't you be doing paperwork? I don't think I've ever seen the Hokage out of her office."

Gaara gently smiled, amused by the comment. "Understandable. If you had come here about a month ago, then that observation would have been accurate." At Sakura's questioning stare, he elaborated. "About a month ago, I came across a young lady and her pet duck injured in the desert and brought them here for medical attention. She had amnesia, but nonetheless offered her assistance around the office to thank me for saving her life."

"I hope you're not letting her handle anything too sensitive," Sakura frowned.

"Of course not," Gaara shook his head. "Still, that's also why I came to speak with you." He continued when he saw Sakura's questioning gaze. "I was hoping to help her regain her memories, but I've had no luck so far. I was thinking that if she gets out of Suna and sees more places, she'd be more likely to remember things." Sakura and Marco both nodded. "I would therefore like to request that you take her with you when you go back to Konoha."

Sakura looked over at Marco, then back at Gaara. "Well, I'm okay with it, but we'd need to ask her as well, wouldn't we?" she asked, and Gaara nodded.

"Once you're finished eating, come to my office. I can introduce you to her then."

* * *

><p>About an hour later, Sakura and Marco found themselves outside of Gaara's office. Lee had run off to go do some more training, while TenTen was still with Temari somewhere. Sakura lifted her hand and knocked on the door.<p>

"Come in," Gaara called from inside, and the two entered the room.

Sakura's eyes immediately fell on the young lady and her large pet duck. The young lady had long wavy blue hair, with two bangs hanging down, one on either side of her head. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, revealing a pair of golden earrings, one on either ear. She dressed very casually, in a white tank-top shirt with blue jeans and white heels. She was tending to her pet duck, which looked big enough to carry her. The duck in question was yellow with his wing and tail feathers tipped black, and a spot on his bill. The duck also wore a blue chullo with a white pattern on it, as well as pink goggles with blue lenses.

"That's a…" Marco muttered, and Sakura glanced at him as the lady looked over at the sound of his voice. She gasped, and Marco quickly brought his hand to his mouth to motion for her to be quiet. She seemed to catch the hint, covering her own mouth as Gaara looked from one to the other.

"This is Sakura Haruno and Edward Newgate," Gaara introduced the two of them to her, and the young lady stared at Marco for a moment before quickly bowing.

"A pleasure to meet you, Sakura-San, Edward-San," she greeted, brushing one of her bangs off to the side. "This is Carue, and I am Vivi Nefertari."

* * *

><p><em>Whoops~ I wonder how people are gonna react to this development? Well, see you next time!<em>

_-Ink_


	16. Chapter 16

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_..._

_I really have no excuse for being so late._

_I'm so, so sorry that it took so long._

_I'll talk a little about my reasons after the chapter, but I don't want to delay you any longer than I already have._

_Please enjoy._

Chapter Sixteen

"Vivi!" Marco exclaimed, opening his arms wide. "It's been ages! I haven't seen you for at least a year!"

Gaara and Sakura both blinked, looking back and forth between Marco and the rather confused looking Vivi. "You know her?" Gaara asked, arms folded across his chest.

"Well, we're more like acquaintances," Marco elaborated, scratching behind his ear. "She was a client once. My crew and I escorted her across the sea for business."

"Oh-!" Vivi gasped, nodding quickly. "Yes, now I remember! Not much, but I do remember Edward-San's kindness, and the sea…"

Something clicked in Sakura's mind. Marco was saying he knew her, and her him… if that was the case, it was likely that Vivi was also-

Her musings were interrupted when Marco spoke up again. "Vivi, Gaara asked if you'd like to come to Konoha with us in order to help you regain your memories."

Vivi frowned and looked to Gaara. "Gaara-San, are you sure that's okay? Plus, I don't think I have repaid you properly for all of your kindness." Carue quacked in agreement.

"It's fine, Vivi. You've already done plenty," Gaara gently smiled. "I wouldn't want to keep you from anyone you may have waiting for you at home, wherever that is."

Vivi nodded, holding her hands at chest level, before giving Gaara a large hug. "Thank you. For everything." She released him, smiling gently before walking over to Sakura and Marco. "Edward-San, perhaps you can tell me more about our travels together on the way to retrieve my things?"

Carue quacked as the group walked out of the office, and Sakura pet his feathers. "So," Sakura began once she was certain they were out of earshot from anyone who might notice. "Do you two really know each other?"

"Know _of_ each other," Marco corrected. "I gathered she was from the same place as me when I saw Carue." Sakura figured he was using vague terms in case someone was listening in.

"Why?" Sakura asked, and Carue quacked in agreement.

"Carue is a spotted-billed duck," Vivi explained. "They're a kind of duck only found on Sandy Island, more specifically Alabasta."

Sakura nodded. "And you said you knew _of _each other? Marco is pretty famous, from what he's told me…" Vivi nodded and Carue quacked in confirmation. "But what about you?"

"Well, she _is _a princess. When you travel as often as I do, you hear about important figures like her," Marco said, and Sakura stopped dead in her tracks as her three companions kept walking. When they realized she had stopped walking, they turned back to look at her.

"Sakura-San?" Vivi frowned, and Carue quacked in concern. When she didn't respond, Vivi walked up and waved a hand in front of her face. "Sakura-San, are you all right?"

Sakura's legs proceeded to fail her, and she collapsed under her own weight. Marco moved quickly, catching her before she could hit the ground, before picking her up bridal style.

"I think she just had a mental overload," he smirked, turning to face Carue. "Carue, do you mind carrying her back to our hotel room?" Carue quacked and shook his head, so Marco placed Sakura on his back, adjusting her position so she was riding comfortably.

"Marco-San," Vivi piped up, "Are you sure this is okay? That Sakura-San knows where we're from."

Marco began leading Vivi and Carue down the streets towards the hotel they were staying at, turning his head to look at her. "It's fine. Sakura is my nakama," he smiled. Vivi unconsciously wrapped her hand around her left wrist, and smiled back at him. "She's helping me find a way back home." Something seemed to dawn on him at that moment. "Speaking of which… how did you wind up here?"

Vivi's smile faded. "There was this devil's fruit user…"

* * *

><p>When Sakura regained her senses, she found herself in her hotel room in the early evening, Vivi sitting on her bed and talking to TenTen, showing her some sort of sharp jewels attached to a wire.<p>

"Oh- Sakura!" TenTen greeted with a wave. "Look at this! Vivi uses Peacock Slashers as a weapon! _Peacock Slashers! _How cool is that?"

Sakura missed the appeal of the strange weapon, and just sat up and adjusted herself so she was sitting next to Vivi on the bed. "Um, how long was I out for?"

"About two hours, Sakura-San," Vivi laughed nervously. "Edward-San, Carue and I brought you back here to recover, and then Edward-San and I discussed our time together to help me regain some of my memories." Sakura had pieced together that Vivi was faking amnesia as a cover story, so she just nodded. "TenTen-San returned about half an hour ago and we explained the situation, so the two of us were getting to know one another."

Sakura nodded. "Where are Edward and Carue?" she asked.

"They're in the other room with Lee-San," Vivi answered.

"Lee wanted to use Carue as a weight for his pushups," TenTen sighed. "We _were_ going to go and pick up Vivi's things, but she was worried about you, and now that Lee's got Edward and Carue occupied…"

"So, tomorrow before we leave, then?" Sakura sighed, and TenTen nodded in response. She felt her stomach complain, and brought a hand to it. "…Is anyone else hungry?"

Vivi smiled. "Actually, we were planning on going to get dinner once you woke up. Shall we go?"

TenTen smiled. "If it's your last night in Suna, we should get a big meal to commemorate the occasion! Bid the city farewell with a happy memory, you know?"

Vivi gripped her left wrist with a smile, and nodded. "That sounds like a great idea, TenTen-San. Let's get Lee-San, Edward-San and Carue so they can join us."

The three got up and went to the room next door, knocking. "Lee, Edward!" TenTen called. "We're going to get dinner, do you want to join us?"

A loud quack from the other side of the door, followed by what Sakura swore was Lee voicing a complaint and Marco sighing, and the door opened so the three could exit the room. Carue quacked and hugged TenTen, before going over to Vivi, who gently pet his feathers.

"Lee was going a bit overboard with the workout," Marco said when Sakura looked at him for an explanation. Sakura quickly caught on, and nodded to Carue with a sympathetic look. The duck in question attempted to hide behind Vivi when Lee trudged out of the room.

"I wasn't finished!" he complained. "I still had 50 handstand pushups to go!"

Vivi muttered under her breath, and Sakura caught something about a _Mr. Bushido_, which she decided to ask about later. Instead, she brought her hands together with a clap. "Come on! Let's go eat!"

* * *

><p><em>All right... as promised, I'll talk about why it took so long to get this out. If you don't want to read it, I don't mind - that's why I'm warning you here.<em>

_Really... the main thing is that I haven't been feeling as well as I could be. I've started something of a summer job - helping out my aunt and uncle at their pharmacy - and it's leaving me really tired because I'm __**not **__used to doing stuff like that. Plus, I've been feeling unwell - not really in a sick way, but more in a just... kind of depressed way, I guess? I've been sick and sad and just generally in a sour mood on something of a short fuse. Things that shouldn't annoy me have been annoying me, things that don't usually set me off have been setting me off... I've also been less motivated to do all the things I normally do. Writing, drawing, heck, even sticking to the right sorts of food choices have been harder for me lately. I've been downright depressed and I don't know why and that just makes it worse and I don't really know who to talk to it about, I guess, and that means I've been keeping it bottled up. Heck, it's helping a little just to type it out... I guess this is more for my sake than for anyone else's that this is all going here? I don't really want to bother you all with it, but I do kinda need a way to vent now and again. And when I can get myself motivated to do things, it's mostly been on the 'drawing' and 'comic making' side of things, as opposed to the 'writing' side. Sorry about that. u_u_

_The other thing is that... well, video games. I got Bravely Default: Where The Fairy Flies. As I type this, I'm having my party run around while set to Auto to grind for money and levels. So that's also been taking up a lot of my time._

_So, um, if you're still here, thanks for reading through all of that. I'd say I'll try and be faster with the next chapter... but I'm not very good at holding myself to those sorts of promises._

_Until next time!_

_-Ink_


	17. Chapter 17

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_Well here's a chapter, may be a little while 'till the next one since I'm starting to feel really sick, but hopefully it's nothing..._

Chapter Seventeen

Lee adjusted the large backpack that carried the belongings Vivi had managed to accumulate in her month-long stay at Suna, before turning to the group and giving them a thumbs-up and wide grin, his teeth glistening in the sunlight. "All set to go!" he proclaimed, getting ready to take off towards Konoha.

"Ah… Lee-San," Vivi sweatdropped, though it seemed like she was used to this sort of thing somehow, "Are you sure you don't want Carue and I to carry that? We can manage it…" The duck quacked in agreement.

"No need to worry, Vivi-San!" Lee grinned. "I can handle it! Something like this is no trouble for the burning passion of YOUTH!" With that, he turned towards Konoha and prepared to take off.

"Lee," TenTen spoke up, "If you go too quickly, you might damage Vivi's things, and that would be very un-youthful of you," she smiled sweetly as Lee froze in place. "Try and keep the same pace as the rest of us, okay?"

Sakura could see the words take their effect on Lee as he slumped over. "Guy-Sensei, I have failed you…" he sulked. "I am not taking into account the consequences of my actions, and how they will affect the fires of youth…" Lee suddenly shot straight up, brandishing his fist to the sky. "I swear to you, I shall learn from my mistakes and make certain that my flames burn as brightly as they can!"

"Well… he's no Mr. Bushido…" Vivi deadpanned.

TenTen's eyes went straight to her. "Mr. Bushido? Did you remember something from your past?" she asked, taking Vivi's hands to encourage her.

"I…" Vivi hesitated a moment, and Sakura figured that she was trying to determine just how much information to give. "I remember green hair… and swords… three of them… always trying to get stronger…" She pulled her hands out of TenTen's grip, then held her elbow and pressed two fingers into her forehead. "…I called him Mr. Bushido… but I don't remember his real name… or how I know him, or what he was to me…"

"That's okay!" TenTen reassured her. "You're remembering things, and that's what's important!" she smiled, holding her hand. "If Lee reminds you of someone you knew, maybe more people in Konoha will remind you of other people you know!"

"Ah- Maybe!" Vivi smiled brightly. "Thank you, TenTen-San!"

TenTen smiled in response. "Great! Let's head on to Konoha!" She began pulling Vivi along by the hand, followed by Lee and Carue.

Sakura looked over at Marco as they began walking along after the group. She watched his eyes trail the group, more specifically Vivi. "What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"Just wondering if her nakama know," Marco responded. Seeing Sakura's confused expression, he elaborated. "I hadn't actually heard of her until one of my nakama told me about her. She was traveling with his little brother's crew, but it seems as if she remained in her kingdom. And…"

"And?" Sakura blinked.

"I was thinking of teaching you both Haki at the same time," Marco grinned. "Might do you good to have a training partner, and it would help her to protect her kingdom as well. Besides, as they say, a friend of my friend is my friend."

Sakura nodded. "I suppose… besides, she's probably going to be hanging out with us a lot, since we know about… well…" Marco just nodded in response. "She'd probably pick some stuff up if she was just watching, anyway."

"Sounds about right," he smiled, picking up to a jog to catch up to the rest. Sakura caught up soon afterwards.

"Ah- Sakura-San, Edward-San," Vivi greeted as they came up next to her. "How long is the trip to Konoha?"

"Three days at our current pace," Sakura responded.

"That's… an awfully long time to be traveling with, um…" her gaze went to Lee, and Sakura silently agreed as Carue quacked out a complaint.

"Don't worry. It'll be done before you know it," Marco grinned, before speaking in a low voice so only Sakura and Vivi would be able to hear him. "I personally go by how long it'll be until I can fly again."

"Ah- that's right, they think Marco and Edward aren't the same person…" Vivi whispered with a nod. At Sakura's confused expression, she elaborated. "While you were briefly comatose, Marco-San explained his situation to me so I wouldn't accidentally call him the wrong name in front of people."

"Ah. Thanks, Vivi," Sakura smiled gently.

Vivi smiled back. "You know, you kind of remind me of Nami." Sakura waited, and Vivi, sensing she wanted more information, continued. "She was the navigator of the pirate crew I traveled with briefly – um, I'll fill you in later – but she was also kind, if not a bit strict with the others when they were goofing off." Vivi gripped her left wrist, and Sakura wondered if it held any significance. "She also was very fond of money. Actually, they agreed to help me because Nami was trying to get a billion berries out of me because I was a princess…"

"Berries?" Sakura asked. "Why would she want food?"

"Berries are our world's currency," Marco helpfully stepped in. "Another reason I didn't just stop being a bird. Our currency is useless here."

"Oh…" Sakura wondered why she had even been inclined to think that their two worlds would have the same kind of currency. It made absolutely no sense. Still, for a currency to be named after a kind of fruit was a bit silly. Sakura briefly wondered what the exchange rate would be, before realizing that was a stupid thought since there was very little chance that there would be any way for constant trade to happen between the two worlds. Actually, she was still having trouble wrapping her head around the whole thing. Entirely different worlds… this was going to need to be kept under wraps, especially considering how many shinobi might try and use Marco and Vivi's world to their advantage…

Sakura shuddered at the thought of shinobi running around with devil fruit abilities, especially with the examples that Marco had given her when explaining what types there were. No hand signs were needed, if Marco himself was any indication, so they'd give the user an advantage over an ordinary shinobi… still, the 'sinking like a hammer in water' thing seemed very inconvenient, and she imagined it would suck for someone who was made out of fire to go up against a shinobi that could use water jutsu.

"Sakura-San?" Vivi cut into her thoughts. "Sakura-San, are you paying attention?"

Sakura snapped back to attention, turning to look at Vivi as the group walked along. "What is it, Vivi?"

"I just wanted to ask you where I'd be staying when we get back," she replied, glancing away awkwardly. "I don't want to inconvenience anybody, but at the same time I don't know if I'd be able to constantly afford paying rent for an apartment when I could leave at any time…"

"Eh?!" TenTen cut into the conversation. "Why would you be leaving at any time?"

"Ah… for the sake of travel," Vivi explained. "I might go places often to try and regain my memories further."

"Why not stay with Sakura?" Marco suggested, and TenTen pouted, upset that Sakura's apartment had been offered before her residence.

"Oh- That's a great idea!" Vivi exclaimed, looking over at Sakura. "It would be okay, right? It's just – you remind me of someone who was like a sister to me... It might help me remember more…"

"What, I don't remind you of anyone?" TenTen smirked, playfully jabbing Vivi in the side.

"Actually," Vivi thought for a moment. "I vaguely remember someone with a long nose who used a slingshot…"

The rest of the trip back to Konoha consisted of many similar conversations – TenTen and Lee would encourage Vivi to talk more whenever she mentioned something that seemed vaguely familiar, and she would occasionally move closer to Sakura and Marco to talk to them about something they weren't quite comfortable sharing with the others yet. They also agreed that once they'd officially finished the mission, Marco would 'leave to find a place to stay', find a secluded area to change to his phoenix form, and head back to her apartment that way so as not to raise suspicion.

The group was in high spirits when the gates of Konoha came into sight. Vivi herself was left speechless at the sight of the hidden village, and it took TenTen telling her it looked better when you were walking through the streets to get her to actually walk through the gates.

Sakura heard Marco groan as they walked in. When she turned to question him, he just sighed.

"I just realized," he elaborated. "We're going to have a _lot _of explaining to do to the Hokage."

_And that ends this chapter._

_Out of curiosity... I'm probably gonna be having more people from the One Piece world showing up in the Naruto world, but I don't really know who to use. Out of the overly large cast, who would you like to see?_

_And, as always, thank you for all your kind words. See you next time._

_-Ink_


	18. Chapter 18

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_Sorry for the major delay! I had the flu. But I'm basically over it now, so here's an update!_

Chapter Eighteen

Tsunade had _not_ been amused when Marco and Sakura had informed her that Marco was not the only one who had been hit by that strange jutsu. They told her that they suspected the one who had hit him with that jutsu had multiple victims, and Sakura thought Tsunade might have broken something if it hadn't been for the fact that they had Vivi and Carue, two of the aforementioned victims, with them in the office at that moment in time. Tsunade had taken a deep breath, counted backwards from ten, and promptly told them to leave and go get some rest, and that she wanted to speak with all four of them first thing tomorrow morning. The group had agreed – mostly to avoid getting something thrown at them – and Marco had quickly ushered the two girls out of the office, followed by a terrified, quacking Carue.

The group spoke to one another, mostly about their suspicions about why Tsunade wanted to speak with them tomorrow morning, on the way out of the building. They were about to part ways so Marco could go find a place change into his phoenix form in peace when they ran into Shikamaru just outside of the building. He seemed to have been waiting for them for some reason, though he seemed mildly surprised by Vivi and Carue's presence.

"Hey, Sakura," he nodded to her, and she smiled in response. "Who're these three?"

"Oh-" Sakura blinked, looking between her companions and Shikamaru, motioning to each of them as she said their names. "This is Vivi, her pet duck Carue, and Edward. Vivi, Edward, Carue, this is Shikamaru."

Shikamaru's eyes passed over Vivi and Carue, before landing on Marco. The two held each other's gaze for a moment, and Shikamaru frowned as he noted the look that Marco was giving him – like they had some sort of spiritual connection, and that the man _pitied_ him – and he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd seen that exact same expression not that long ago…

Shikamaru brought a hand to his head, lowering it in annoyance. "How troublesome," he muttered, before looking back at Sakura, Vivi, Marco and Carue. "Sakura, may I have a word with Edward in private?" He didn't wait for her response, taking Marco's hand and leading him into an alleyway a few streets away. Sakura and Vivi watched them go, before exchanging glances and figuring he'd catch up to them later. Carue quacked and brought them back to attention, and the three began making their way to Sakura's apartment.

Shikamaru sat Marco down on a nearby crate, then sighed and sat down across from him. They were both silent for a few minutes, prompting Marco to blink a few times. "Is this about the hair?" he asked, running a hand through it. "I didn't know that other people had pineapple hair. Everyone calls me pineapple, it's a pain in the-"

"Marco," Shikamaru interrupted him. "How come you're a human and not a phoenix?" Marco found himself unable to form a coherent response, so Shikamaru kept talking. "When we first met, you gave me the _exact_ same look that you just did. The voice is the same, and the hair is the explanation as to _why_ you gave me that look. Plus, the fact that Sakura didn't take you with her on her mission to Suna, and yet no one saw any indication that you were anywhere near Konoha the entire week that they were gone."

Marco sighed. "Look, it's a long story, and I'm sorry for keeping it a secret, but would you have believed me if you hadn't seen evidence of it firsthand?" Shikamaru conceded that point. "I'm just a sailor with a bit of combat experience. I'm not a ninja like you. I don't know how many of you people I can trust with my secrets. I don't want people to try experiment on me or anything like that."

"Understandable," he nodded, and then thought for a moment. "How many other people know?"

"Sakura, of course," Marco crossed his arms to think about it. "Tsunade and Shizune. Tama. Vivi and Carue," he listed.

"And now me," Shikamaru finished the list for him, and Marco nodded. "How'd they all find out?"

"Sakura figured out I was human before I even changed back in Konoha," Marco sighed, scratching behind his head. "I had to fully explain my circumstances, though, when Kiba, Akamaru, Shino and Hinata caught me in the library…" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, and he elaborated. "I'm not from this part of the world. I got hit by a jutsu that sent me here, and I was trying to figure out how to get home." Shikamaru nodded, and he continued where he left off. "Tsunade and Shizune found out when Sakura figured it out, since they were in the room when she put two and two together. Tama was sent to get Sakura for when she found out and noticed that I wasn't around her apartment, and I also used my human form to beat him up before, so he put it together… as far as Vivi and Carue, they were clients of mine, so they already knew about it," he finished, crossing his arms. "They got hit by the same jutsu I was hit by, and Vivi wound up in Suna with amnesia. We brought them here in hopes that she would remember things, and some of the people we've run into seem to be reminding her of people she was close to, so that's good."

Shikamaru nodded, satisfied by this explanation. "All right. I'll keep watch."

"Keep watch?" Marco asked.

"I assume you'll want to change back to your phoenix form. People will get suspicious if the pet Sakura's grown so attached to is missing, but they won't notice if a random sailor happens to be missing," he pointed out, getting up off of his seat and going to the exit of the alleyway, looking around. "No one out there…" He leapt onto the rooftops overhead. "No one up here, either…" Shikamaru hopped back down into the alley. "Coast's clear, but make it-"

He didn't get a chance to finish as blue flames wrapped around Marco, and in an instant the bird had replaced the man. Marco smiled smugly at him, lifting off of his perch and landing on Shikamaru's shoulder. "…Now I see why Sakura likes this so much," Shikamaru joked, putting his hands in his pockets and making his way towards Sakura's apartment.

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><p><em>That brings this chapter to a close. We now have another person on the list of 'people that we're aware know about Marco'! I say it like that because, for all we know, other people could have figured it out and just not said anything yet. Anyway, see you guys next chapter~!<em>

_-Ink_


	19. Chapter 19

**_Ink's Notes:_**

_It would appear that I've written another chapter. Whoops. Or is it not-whoops? Anyway. This one's a bit shorter than the others, but I suppose some of the chapters have to be. In other news, I've decided which characters will be showing up from the One Piece world. Not counting Marco, Vivi and Carue, there are **six **other characters who will be making appearances. I'm planning on having a chapter to introduce them without actually introducing them (...if that makes sense), so when that comes around you guys can feel free to try and guess who's who based on the clues given in those chapters. So... I think that might be it..._

_Actually, I'd really like to get to know all you guys better! If there's anything you want to know about me, feel free to ask, and if you want to introduce yourselves to me go right ahead! I'm all for making new friends!_

_Anyway, on to the chapter!_

Chapter Nineteen

Sakura had been about to open the window for Marco when she heard the knocking on her door. She told Vivi to make herself comfortable and checked to see who it was, then promptly found herself unable to form coherent words as she opened it fully to let Shikamaru in. He entered the room, and Marco left his shoulder in favor of Sakura's, settling down and nuzzling his head against hers.

"I missed this," he smiled, then when Sakura closed the door, he sighed. "Add Shikamaru to the list of people who know."

Sakura sputtered a moment before looking over at Shikamaru, who was petting Carue. "He- how-"

"Figured it out through a few clues," Shikamaru explained. "When I called him out on it, Marco filled me in on his situation."

"So… that means that you know…" Vivi cautiously spoke.

"That you're here trying to regain your memories, and all three of you got hit by a strange jutsu that sent you to this part of the world." Vivi internally sighed in relief, and Sakura figured that Marco had given him his cover story. "So was anyone else hit by that jutsu?"

The group exchanged glances, but it was Marco who spoke up. "We're not sure, yoi. I was probably the last victim, but Vivi doesn't remember if he was bragging about having sent anyone else here or not."

Shikamaru nodded. "All right. Don't worry about me telling people, it'd be too troublesome to have to explain this whole thing." He scratched behind his head and closed his eyes. "But be careful, Marco. There are shinobi who might be interested in your abilities."

The group bid Shikamaru a farewell, and once he was out the door and they'd closed it behind him, Marco sighed and shifted back into his human form. When Sakura looked at him in confusion, he explained. "You said we would try a basic jutsu when we got back to Konoha."

"Oh- That's right!" Sakura nodded, then thought for a moment. "How about a basic clone technique? If you could successfully pull that off, we could have Edward and Marco in the same place at the same time," she reasoned.

Marco nodded, and Sakura began talking him through the basics of channeling chakra and how jutsu worked. Vivi and Carue listened intently, but when Sakura produced some leaves for the group to try spinning, neither was able to get theirs to move at all. Marco's leaf, on the other hand, wound up bursting into blue flames. When the fires had died down, though, the leaf was not a pile of ash like the group had expected, but rather had been restored to perfect health, as if it were still on the tree that it had come from.

The group didn't understand it at first, but when they brainstormed why that had happened, it was Vivi who came up with an explanation. "Perhaps it has to do with the fact that you're a phoenix, Marco-San?" she offered. "Phoenixes are known to have restorative flames."

"I _can_ heal myself and regenerate when I'm in phoenix form, or by having my fire cover areas where I've been injured," Marco nodded contemplatively.

"So, perhaps by channeling your… well, it's not _chakra_, but by channeling whatever it is you have that's similar enough to chakra into the leaf, it registered that leaf as part of you and healed it to perfect condition," Vivi reasoned.

Sakura and Marco nodded. It certainly made enough sense when she phrased it that way. Sakura looked over at Marco. "Maybe when you get good enough at this, you can learn some healing jutsus," she offered. "I'm sure that would be helpful for your crew when you're sailing."

Marco nodded, patting her on the head and ruffling her hair. "Let's start with simple things first," he stated. Sakura nodded and began guiding him through the steps to create a basic clone. He followed along, slowly at first, then progressively faster until he was able to do it without her guidance. "All right. Here we go…" Marco inhaled, exhaled, and then went through the steps again, this time channeling the required energy for the technique.

A spiral of blue fire formed next to him, and Sakura, Vivi and Carue all jumped backwards in shock. Marco himself looked over at the column of flames that had formed, regarding it with curiosity as it died down. Their eyes followed the flames down to the ground where the spiral had started up, and everyone was left dumbfounded at the sight before them.

There, right in the center of the area the flames had just been, was a miniature version of Marco's phoenix form, no bigger than a bluebird, sitting on the floor. It looked up, around, and then over at Marco, making a few chirping noises.

"…Yeah, I'm in agreement here," Marco frowned. "_What_."

* * *

><p><em>MINI BIRD MARCO<em>

_...yeah that's all I have to say. See you next time!_

_-Ink_


	20. Chapter 20

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_Hi again! I have another update here for you. I've also figured out around when this story is taking place, in part due to who I've picked from the One Piece world to appear and who they wound up encountering when they arrived. For the Naruto world, this is taking place __**sometime before Itachi's death, but sometime after Orochimaru's death.**__ For the One Piece world, this is taking place __**just after the Straw Hat Pirates leave for Fishman Island. **__Hopefully that clears up any temporal confusion you may have. Anyway, on with the chapter!_

Chapter Twenty

Sakura was woken up early the next morning by the sound of Vivi _screaming_ and Carue quacking at the top of his lungs. When she'd charged out into the living room – where she'd set Vivi up on the couch until further notice – to investigate, she found Vivi hiding herself behind the couch while Carue attempted to fend Naruto off with one of the kitchen chairs and Marco sat, in phoenix form, on her kitchen table, covering his eyes with his wings in sheer exasperation.

"…_Naruto_…" Sakura seethed through clenched teeth, making her presence known. Everyone in the room _(aside from Marco, who was still covering his eyes)_ looked over at her, and Naruto broke out in a nervous sweat. He backed away towards the window that she'd left open – which, now that she thought about it, was pointless since Marco had permission to do his research freely – as Carue began jabbing the chair at him like a sword.

"Um… Carue, you can put the chair down…" Vivi quickly spoke up, and Carue quacked, saluted, and put the chair back where he'd found it. Naruto was about to leap out the window when Marco fluttered into his path and pecked him back into the apartment, where a well-placed punch to the top of the head courtesy of Sakura left him in a whimpering heap in the center of her apartment's living room.

"Sakura-Chan…" Naruto whined, his lower lip quivering as he sniffled from the pain.

"Um… Sakura-San, who is this?" Vivi asked, pointing to her teammate. "He… reminds me of someone. I… believe his name was… Luffy?"

Marco let out something vaguely resembling a snort. When Sakura looked over at him, she noticed that he was doing his best to keep himself from laughing as Naruto turned to Vivi in confusion. "Loo-fee?" he asked. "And what do you mean, reminds me of?"

"Vivi has amnesia," Sakura quickly cut in. "Gaara found her in Suna about a month ago, and asked us to bring her back here with us. She's staying with me in hopes that meeting people in Konoha and seeing other new places will help bring her memories back. So far, it's been working."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "I… thought I could get some more stealth training in, but I didn't know such a pretty girl would be sleeping on the couch…"

That time, it was both Sakura and Carue that hit him over the head.

Before any further punishment could be dealt or any further comments could be made, Vivi spoke up. "Um… Sakura-San, Marco-San, we need to get going… Lady Hokage-Sama wanted to see us first thing in the morning today, remember?"

Sakura and Marco processed this information, before Sakura yelped and ran back into her room to get ready, while Marco practically dragged Naruto over to the window and pointed outside. "Out, yoi!" he ordered, and Naruto quickly complied to avoid the bird's vengeful wrath. Sakura returned about twenty minutes later to find Marco in human form helping Vivi make breakfast for all of them, and another twenty minutes later, after they'd all eaten, they left for the Hokage's office. Sakura was walking alongside Vivi, who was riding on Carue's back, with Marco in phoenix form again flying overhead. Just before they entered the building, he flew down and landed on Sakura's shoulder.

"All this changing back and forth is beginning to get kind of annoying," Marco complained as they arrived outside of Tsunade's office. The four entered, and Marco was about to change back to his human self when he noticed the strange man with bandages on his face standing across from the Hokage.

"Sakura. Marco. Vivi. Carue," Tsunade waved them over, and Vivi slid off of Carue's back before moving over with the others. "Good to see you made it."

"Hokage-Sama," Vivi greeted with a bow, and Carue quacked and saluted. "Um, is this a bad time?" she questioned, glancing over at the bandaged man.

Before Tsunade could respond, the bandaged man turned to them. "No, of course not," he spoke up. Sakura felt Marco tense up on her shoulder, and spared him a quick glance to see his expression – one of distrust – before turning to the man she knew as Danzo. "We were actually discussing the mission that the Hokage was about to give to you." He adjusted his stance slightly before continuing. "As I understand it, she wants the four of you to travel the lands to search for anyone else who was hit by the jutsu that sent you here and take the appropriate course of action based on who that person is and how much of a threat they are towards Konoha." Vivi was about to speak up, but he held up a hand to tell her to wait. "And before you say that no one would want to attack us, keep in mind that you cannot possibly know the true nature of everyone who may or may not have been sent here. While it's perhaps true that so far, the only ones we know about – that being you three – have had no animosity towards us, it's entirely possible that others would, or have been found by someone who could have talked them into going against us."

Vivi bit her lip, and Danzo smiled, knowing he'd made his point. Tsunade groaned and rested her elbow on her table, pressing her forehead into her fist. "Danzo wants me to send a member of Root along with you guys in case things get out of hand, however I'm trying to tell him that the three of you are perfectly capable of dealing with anything that comes your way."

"I've heard that Marco was able to assist in the capture of an A-Rank missing-nin," Danzo acknowledged. "However, it would be wise to send someone of a higher rank than a Chunin," he shot a glance at Sakura, "For such a potentially dangerous mission."

"Yoi," Marco spoke up, bringing Danzo's attention to him. "I'm perfectly capable of handling anyone that tries to hurt my nakama. We don't need you sticking some spy into our group to try and figure out our secrets or try to copy down our techniques."

Danzo's visible eye narrowed, before he closed it and took a step backwards. "Is that what you really believe?" he asked. "I simply have the best interests of the village in mind. If you were to be caught by a potential enemy and it was revealed you were from Konoha…"

"If… secrecy is such an issue, why don't we use a cover story?" Vivi cut in. "I could be… a princess from a faraway land, traveling to see new places. Sakura is a bodyguard I hired from Konoha, and Marco is her summon animal."

Tsunade smirked. "If you're so insistent on sending a more talented shinobi than Sakura, I could ask someone like Kakashi to go with them," she offered.

Danzo frowned. "…No. He's too easily recognized, and would just draw attention to their little… group." He turned away. "I'll trust your judgment for now, Tsunade. However, if I get word that something has gone wrong, I _will_ be sending in Root to clean up their mess." With that, he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"…I don't like him, yoi," Marco flatly stated. "He seems shady. I don't trust him."

Tsunade massaged her forehead. "Well, now you guys know why you're here. Sakura, I'm putting you on this mission because you seem to have a knack for attracting these people, and they seem to like you. Besides, you know how to report back to us. The other two-" Carue quacked. "…_Three_ will hopefully be able to recognize anyone that got sent here by the same jutsu that they were sent here by. In the meantime," she pointed at them. "We'll do research here to see if we can find a way to reverse that jutsu and send you guys home."

"Ah- Thank you, Hokage-Sama," Vivi bowed. "My family must be worried sick about me…" She paused, and Sakura reasoned she was faking recalling her family.

Tsunade sighed. "Gather your supplies and leave as soon as possible. The less time potentially dangerous people we know nothing about are wandering around, the better."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade," Sakura gently bowed, before leading Vivi and Carue out of the office. Marco adjusted himself on her shoulder, and she smiled at him. "Don't worry, Marco. It's gonna be okay."

"…I know," he nodded, before he sighed. "I just miss my crew."

Sakura gently stroked his head. "Hey, don't worry. You have me here with you."

Marco paused and looked at her, before understanding passed through his eyes and he smiled. "…Yeah. Part of my crew is here with me."

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><p><em>So ends the chapter! Hmm, out of curiosity, do you think I should reply to reviews in these bottom notes? It'd give me something to talk about down here...<em>

_-Ink_


	21. Chapter 21

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_And so begins Chapter Twenty-One! ...y'know, today I don't have much to say in this part, so let's just go ahead and get started._

Chapter Twenty-One

Vivi adjusted the map in her hands as she rode on Carue's back. She looked up as the group walked along the pathway that lead away from Konoha, before looking back down at the map with a frown. "It still amazes me that there's so much land in your world," she muttered, tilting her head slightly to the right before straightening it out. "Which way should we go?" she asked, squinting at their possible routes. "Do we want to go clockwise? Counter-clockwise? In a random pattern?" Vivi scratched behind her head, turning and holding the map out to Sakura, who was walking alongside Carue.

Sakura took the map from her, looking it over. After about a minute of consideration, she nodded and placed her finger on the map at their current location. "Let's head towards the Land of Rivers and Tanigakure first," she offered, tracing a path on the map with her finger. "Then travel clockwise around the continent, so we go through the Land of Wind, maybe stop in Sunagakure to visit Gaara and the others, then we can stop in Ishikagure, Amekagure and Kusagakure before going to the Land of Earth and Iwagakure, then we'd go to Takigakure, followed by the Land of Sound, the Land of Hot Water and Yugakure, the Land of Frost and Shimogakure, and the Land of Lightning and Kumogakure. Then we'd take a boat to the Land of Water and Kirigakure."

Marco looked down at them as he flew overhead. "How do you even remember all of those names, yoi?" he asked. "I get that they're kind of similar, but I feel like I'd get them mixed up because of that, yoi."

"It was part of our lessons at school," Sakura admitted, laughing nervously. "I did my best to memorize everything we were taught in hopes of using my knowledge to become an amazing shinobi. When it came to knowledge, I was one of, if not the, best in the class, and it also helped me with my chakra control because I knew the ins and outs of how it was supposed to work."

Marco smiled. "That's the kind of talent we need in the Whitebeard Pirates, yoi. Not only would your healing jutsu come in handy in the ship's medical bay, but you'd be great at reading maps and helping determine our route." Sakura began sputtering incoherently, both from the praise and from Marco's insistence that she join his crew, Vivi's laughter at the expression on her face not helping at all. "Anyway, that sounds like a good plan. We might even run into some people from our world during our travels between the villages, yoi." He soared down and began gliding alongside the group. "Say, spotted billed ducks are fast, right, yoi?"

"Yes, they are," Vivi nodded. "Many people believe that they're the fastest animals in Alabasta. In fact, Carue is the leader of the Super Spotted-Billed Duck Squad, who have a reputation for being just that."

Sakura didn't get a chance to ask what that was when Marco's beak turned upwards in a grin. "Then how about we pick up our pace a bit?" he asked.

"I… don't think I'll be able to keep up with Carue, Marco," Sakura frowned. "Nor is there enough room on his back to fit both me and Vivi."

Marco shook his head and landed, bringing the group to a halt. "I never said you'd need to, yoi." He outstretched his wings, and blue flames spun around him as he began to expand. Sakura jumped backwards in surprise as he grew, a marking on his chest matching the tattoo he had in human form becoming more and more apparent until it was fully clear as he reached his full size, the same size he was as a human. "I've been compressing my size to appear more bird-like, yoi, but this is the size I _usually _am as full Zoan." Sakura blinked, sputtered, and barely managed to get out a squeak as he leaned forwards so he was level with the ground. "Hop on."

Sakura stared, looked at Vivi _(who just smiled and motioned to Marco's back),_ then swallowed nervously, not entirely sure about this whole thing. "Um… are you sure it's safe?" she asked, though she felt like she already knew the answer.

"What, do you have a problem with heights, yoi?" Marco teased. Sakura frowned and shook her head, then threw caution into the wind as she climbed onto Marco's back. She found that instead of being burned by his fire, she was enveloped by a gentle, pleasant warmth, and she felt herself relaxing, so much so that she only barely processed Marco saying, "Hold on, yoi."

Sakura blinked, then yelped and wrapped her arms around his neck as he flapped his wings and soared straight up. It was only when he leveled out about fifty feet off of the ground that she loosened her grip, slowly sat up straight, and took a moment to take in her surroundings. She took a deep breath, then exhaled in awe, looking out at the skies around and above, the trees and village (and Vivi and Carue) below, and the mountains on the horizon. "Incredible…" she breathed out, then looked down at Marco, who was smiling up at her. "We have to do this more often!"

Marco grinned. "Better keep at least one of your hands on my neck until you're comfortable with flying, yoi. Which way are we going?" She pointed towards the Land of Rivers, and Marco nodded. "This way!" he called down to Vivi and Carue, pointing in the same direction with one of his talons. With that, he flapped his wings and began soaring along, Sakura keeping a gentle grip on his neck as Vivi rode Carue on the ground below them. Marco made sure to fly above visible paths so he never lost sight of their traveling companions, but with the two birds doing the moving, Sakura found that they were covering much more ground than they would have been able to if they were just walking or running. She smiled, closed her eyes, and lifted her arms off of his neck, holding them out at her sides like an airplane. Slowly, she let herself get lost in the moment as the wind blew through her hair and Marco's warmth spread through her body, finding herself relaxing and having fun as the two flew along.

Vivi looked up at the two as they flew overhead and found herself smiling. "They're really close, aren't they, Carue?" she asked, and her companion quacked in agreement as he ran along the path, periodically jumping over or swerving to avoid an obstacle. "It reminds me of my time with the Straw Hat Pirates." Vivi brought her hand to her wrist, where there had once been an 'X' marking to prevent the group from being fooled by Bon Clay. The mark had long since faded, but its meaning remained – no matter what happened, it was the sign of their friendship.

Sakura and Marco continued to fly, allowing the actions they were taking to speak for them as they traveled through the sky. Marco smiled, looking down at Vivi and Carue, an idea forming in his mind. "Hey, Sakura…" he spoke up, pulling her out of her temporary trance.

She blinked her eyes open, noticing where he was looking and regarding that area with curiosity. "Yes, Marco?" she asked, moving her hands back to his neck to make sure she was steady.

Marco smiled and looked back at her. "Why don't we have our first lesson on Observation Haki? You can practice it by learning to 'see' Vivi and Carue using it."

Sakura's face lit up in a grin, and that was all the answer that Marco needed.

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><p><em>All right~! As promised, I'm gonna respond to reviews down here~!<em>

_**Krazyfanfiction1: **__Thank you~! I'm glad you're enjoying the series! And yes, I think replies would be fun._

**_Skipper917:_**_ Thank you very much! And I do enjoy replying because it's like conversing with the audience._

**_The Keeper of Worlds: _**_Thank you! ^^_

**_Allykrau:_**_ I believe that I shall. As far as who's showing up... well, I'll be giving you guys some hints about that one in the next chapter~_

**_Guest:_**_ I will, thanks!_

_See you guys next chapter, for something a liiiittle bit different~!_


	22. Chapter 22

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_Hello everyone~! As promised, today's chapter is going to be a bit... different. I'm giving you previews in regards to the six other Grand Line characters who are showing up in this story! Granted, I won't be giving any names, but I think a few of them (...namely, the second one) are incredibly obvious, and you'll probably be able to guess exactly who they are. I also changed the description to be a bit more up-to-date with the story. Anyway, enjoy!_

Chapter Twenty-Two

There was no way around it – he was lost, hurt and hungry. Hunger he could take care of, that was no problem. Animals were easy to hunt, no matter how different they looked from the ones back home.

_Home…_

He missed home, his crew, his Captain. That guy with the Devil's Fruit… if only he hadn't gotten distracted, then his crew probably wouldn't be worried about him. They were relying on him to get them from place to place. Without him, who knows where they'd end up?

Certainly not here. There was no escaping it – he was in another world. He'd gathered that much when he'd scared a group of travelers into leaving their map behind when they'd run off. Which he would admit was his fault, he supposed. He did have a rather scary appearance to the ordinary civilian. He'd tried to apologize for scaring them, but they were long gone already. So he'd picked up the map they'd dropped and called after them, waving it in the direction they'd run, before pausing to look it over and take in its contents.

This definitely wasn't some weird island. This was an entire continent – the likes of which he'd never seen before. So many possibilities – but he'd have to apologize to his crew for exploring those possibilities without them. He'd sat down and studied the map when he'd been ambushed – and while he'd managed to fight off his attackers _(who were laying beaten and bruised not far away)_, he'd taken a few blows and was bleeding in a few places.

He needed medical attention, and he didn't know if it was readily available to him in this strange new land.

He whined and tightened the cloth he'd wrapped around the wound on his leg. He at least knew that stopping the bleeding was the first course of action that he needed to take to treat injuries. For now, he'd just need to do that, before finding someone who was a better doctor than he was and was willing to treat him.

* * *

><p>She adjusted the blade at her hip and looked over her traveling companions. Certainly not the most trustworthy group – her superior would probably have something to say about the company she was keeping – but it wasn't like she had much of a choice at this point in time. Her fight with that Devil's Fruit user had left her injured, and if it hadn't been for the one with red hair finding her she would have been in a lot worse of a state.<p>

It hadn't taken her long to put together that she was in a place far away from home. The one who appeared to be their leader had said they didn't have time to waste helping random women, and when she'd asked what the hurry was he'd told her he was looking for his brother to get revenge.

A few questions later had led to her holding what was apparently called a 'Bingo Book', and realizing that she had no knowledge of any of the outlaws written in their pages. And she was a Marine! She prided herself in knowing at least _half _of the outlaws in the world. The fact that she knew nothing about any of the ones here – as well as the differences in currency and various notes on techniques – meant that she was either having a bizarre dream or had somehow wound up in another world.

She had asked – not pleaded with, never pleaded with – the strange group to let her travel with them, that she'd be of some use to them. The one who'd helped heal her injuries and the biggest one seemed fine with it, but the one who looked vaguely like a fishman didn't seem to like her while their leader had just regarded her with distaste and distrust. This had enraged her – of course she was trustworthy! All Marines were! – so she'd attacked him. Much to her surprise, he was able to parry all of her blows, even when she'd started using Soru, but she certainly wasn't weak. And by the time their little match had come to an end, he'd simply told her not to fall behind before taking off in the direction she assumed they'd been heading before.

* * *

><p>He surveyed the work he'd done, wiping the sweat from his brow and averting his eyes from the women that periodically passed by the docks, largely to check out the men who were working there. He really wished they would button up their shirts a little bit more, but the people of this city had given him a home in exchange for his services here, so it wasn't like he had much right to complain.<p>

A few more nails hammered into place, and the ship was nearly finished. Now it was simply a matter of it getting painted and having the finishing touches added to it. He would have preferred to do this with the company, but he was in a strange place filled with strange people _(who had no decency!)_ so he had to work with what he could get – that is, those… shinobi, he thought they were – on these ships. Building ships was what he was good at. He was lucky that Devil's Fruit user had sent him to a place near water. Granted, it wasn't his island, but it hadn't taken him long to figure out exactly what had happened to him.

Another world entirely, where it was shinobi – ninjas – who ruled the lands – a world covered in land, not water – all of it was almost too much to take in. But he had managed so far, and he certainly had no intention of letting anyone here find out that he was from another world. When it came to people back home, at least most people gave a pretty clear indication of whether or not you could trust them. For these shinobi, everything was business. He had no doubt they'd try to make some sort of profit off of him or try and find a way back to his world. And while it'd be great if they found a way back home, he had no guarantee that they'd actually send _him _back home. So he'd remained tight-lipped about the whole thing, and simply occupied himself with working on ships.

The shipwrights here… they certainly weren't anything like the ones back home. They prided themselves on quantity, not quality. The first thing he'd done upon getting himself hired there was put a stop to that. Ships that wouldn't hold up for long on the seas – especially if there was a battle on the seas, like there usually were on the Grand Line – were no good, and would bring disgrace to their company.

More importantly, he reminded himself silently, it'd bring disgrace to him and all of the shipwrights that he worked with back home. No matter how far away from home he was, he wanted to make sure the ships he made were the best they could be. It was important to him, just like the friends he had back home were.

He surveyed his work, and then let out a deep breath. He hoped he'd be able to see them again.

* * *

><p>Thunder, rain, lightning… it was all so horrifying, and dreary.<p>

Just the way she liked it.

The architecture reminded her of her old coworkers, and the place she'd taken up residence in for two years. A pleasant two years, loathe as she was to admit it, until that Devil's Fruit user had shown up and ruined it…

But here was nice too. These… shinobi, as they called themselves, knew nothing about Devil's Fruits, giving a user like her a distinct advantage over them. She'd even come to be known as a phantom amongst the people in that hidden village. She supposed it was a little mean of her to get what she needed the way that she did, but it wasn't like she was ever as morally righteous as a Marine was. A hand went up to her lips, and she laughed quietly into it, the sound echoing throughout the spires and floating to the streets below.

Sure, she was away from everything that she knew. But the people here knew nothing about her. She could live peacefully, perhaps, find a nice, uninhabited castle in these dreary lands… or even that tower that, if she recalled correctly, belonged to someone called _Kage_? Wouldn't it be nice to live in a place like that?

She frowned, looking out at the city below from her position above. As wonderful as it was being in such a dreary place, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, she missed home. Here was filled with a bunch of self-righteous people who all thought what they were doing was _right _and _just _and _for the greater good_ and it reminded her of Marines to the point that it made her sick.

What she wouldn't give for a way back home.

* * *

><p>Sailors trying to land on the shores of the Land of Water were surprised to find the strange gatekeeper blocking them from entry and pounding them into submission whenever they tried to dock their ships. This shock was doubled when they discovered that this wasn't the work of any hidden village, or at least no hidden village was stepping up to take credit for it.<p>

Whenever they attempted to dock on the shore, the creature would make a few motions then get into a battle stance. Some people had simply gone to another port, but those who had gotten off the ship had found that the creature was surprisingly fast and surprisingly strong, and had wound up with several injuries and their metaphorical tails between their legs as they went to find another place to dock their ships.

The gatekeeper was proud of himself for defending his shore, but also very lonely. His teacher had left a long time ago, and his brethren were far away, in a place that he didn't know how to get back to. He wanted to go home, but he couldn't communicate that to anyone here. No one understood him.

He let out a solemn cry, only to replace it with a fierce battle cry as another ship neared the shore that he was guarding. They couldn't dock there without his permission. He wouldn't allow it.

* * *

><p>She breathed heavily as she ran, tripping over her feet a few times before spotting a small alcove, which she quickly ducked into. Not a moment too soon, she realized, as those strange people dashed past where she'd just been and scanned the area once again. She was thankful that she could hear their <em>voices<em>, no matter how scary those voices were. It was letting her stay several steps ahead of them.

She waited until there was no sign of them or their _voices _before she rummaged into her backpack – where she used to keep her treasure, but there was no sense in keeping it in a place like this – for some of the food that she'd packed. As she pulled out her last apple, a frown crossed her face. She'd need to find a village to buy things, which meant risking going out in public, which meant risking more people seeing her…

These people were scary, a different scary than the scary from back home, and how she missed home. She missed her friends and her family, and the stories of the pirates who had saved her home. This new world was strange – and she knew it was a new world because the _voices_ were different. They spoke the same words, but the tone and the infliction was different, like two people who had grown up in different regions saying the same sentence with a different accent.

But she had a little bit of hope lingering in the back of her mind. It was faint, but she'd briefly picked up on a voice that sounded like the ones from home. That meant that she wasn't the only one here. There were more people from her world. She just needed to hold out long enough for them to find her, and hope that they were friendly, or would at least be willing to help her get back home.

She slowly bit into the apple, being sure to eat as quietly as she could. If those shinobi found her…

She shuddered. She really didn't want to think about what would happen if they did.

* * *

><p><em>And now I respond to reviews. Let's see here...<em>

**_Krazyfanfiction1: _**_Y'know, I'm actually not sure. On one hand, he could keep the same speed and hit with more surface area. On the other hand, the sudden addition of wind resistance might slow him down before he hits... aahhh physics why do you haunt me soooo_

**_Skipper917:_**_ Thank you~!_

**_Allykrau:_**_ Well, here's the hints! See if you can figure any of them out!_

**_The Keeper of Worlds:_**_ BIG MARCO HAS ARRIVED!_

**_Wicken25: _**_As fun as romance might be, I see Marco as more of a father figure towards Sakura. Any romance would probably have to be between other people. As far as Bepo goes... well, see if you think he matches up to any of these snippets!_

_That's all of them, see you guys next time~!_


	23. Chapter 23

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I AM SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE! I've been sick, like, really really __**really **__sick, and I mean I still kind of am but I'm at least doing well enough to write stuff now! As an apology (and a thank you for hitting and passing 100 reviews seriously how did that happen), I'm going to tell you the __**order that we meet the other Grand Line characters in! **__This of course means I'll be revealing who they are, too._

_The order is as follows: Bepo, Perona, Tashigi, Aisa, Paulie and finally the Kung-Fu Dugong._

_So without further ado, let's get started!_

Chapter Twenty-Three

After a day of traveling, Marco, Sakura, Vivi and Carue decided to stop about two thirds of the way to Tanigakure – in a small town on the borders of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers – for the night. Sakura, Vivi and Carue had set themselves up in an inn for the evening, but Marco had wanted to wander around town in human form to see if he could gather any information or potential leads on people who seemed out of place in this world.

And bars were a very good source of information, which was why he'd chosen a local bar near the inn that they were staying at. Okay, so _maybe _he also wanted to get a good drink and enjoy himself – he was a pirate, after all – but he could listen in for strange stories while he was there.

"Do you think those guys are going to recover?" he heard a voice ask, and immediately turned his attention to the conversation that was happening to his right. A woman was talking to a man, both who looked like ordinary civilians.

"Their injuries are pretty bad, but this town has good doctors. That stray summon animal didn't give them anything lethal," the man responded, and Marco's eyes narrowed. "Still, I don't think I've ever heard of any summon animals that wear clothing…"

Animals wearing clothing, huh? Marco sighed, swirling the drink in his hand before downing it in one go. It sounded an awful lot like these people had run into a Zoan-type Devil's Fruit user. He got up and went over to the two civilians. "Excuse me," he spoke up, bringing their attention to him. "This 'stray summon animal'. Whereabouts was it?"

The man and the woman exchanged glances. "Are you sure you want to know?" the man asked. "It'd be better to let shinobi take care of it."

Marco scratched behind his head as he quickly formulated a quick cover story. "A friend of mine had a fight with his summon animal, and it ran off. We've been looking for it ever since." He hoped that was a thing that could happen, or at least that if it wasn't, these two civilians didn't know enough about summon animals to call him out on his lie. "This stray summon could be his."

The woman nodded slowly. "We ran into it while traveling, and we dropped our map in shock and ran away. We asked some shinobi to track it down and take care of it, since it might hurt someone, but they came back beaten and bruised. You had better ask them where they ran into it. I can take you to where they're recovering…"

Marco nodded. "Great, thanks. Just one second…" He took out some paper and a pen, writing a note for Sakura and Vivi, before creating a little bluebird sized version of his phoenix form. The bird took the note from him in its talon, chirped and saluted, then flew out of the bar to go deliver it.

Before long, the man and woman had led him to the local hospital, where he'd been shown to a group of shinobi who were laying in hospital beds to help them recover. A quick conversation with them had given him the information that he wanted – the place they'd run into the 'stray summon animal' – and he began making his way towards the exit to the town.

Only to find Sakura standing there, hands on her hips, and the little bluebird-sized Marco on her shoulder. It chirped, flew over to Marco and landed on his hand before disappearing in a poof of blue flames. "…Hey, Sakura," he greeted. "I got a possible lead."

"I saw," she frowned, holding up the note. "But you're not going to check it out without me. You might run into trouble."

"I think I'll be fine. It's likely that it's another Zoan-type, who's saying in animal form, or something like that," Marco scratched behind his head. "But you can come. Are Vivi and Carue staying here?"

"They've already gone to bed," Sakura explained. "I was woken up by your bird-clone pecking the window."

"Should have left it open," Marco snarked, then began leading the way. Sakura followed, before picking up her pace so they were walking next to each other. "This guy's taken out a few shinobi, but they said it seemed to be fighting more defensively than anything, so we should be okay as long as we don't try to start anything. Then again, if it's a Marine, we might be in trouble, yoi."

Sakura nodded. "What kind of animal did they say it was?" she asked. "So I know what we're looking for."

"Some kind of bear," Marco answered. "Which is a bit odd. I don't think I've heard of any bear-type Zoan users." He crossed his arms and frowned, thinking as they walked. "Not to mention, when we're in full Zoan form, our clothing usually disappears… but they specifically mentioned that this animal _was _wearing clothing."

Sakura frowned. "Are there any animal-people where you're from?"

"Animal people…" Marco muttered, before his eyes went wide. "Yeah, actually, a few of them. We call them-" He stopped in his tracks and motioned for Sakura to wait as well. She did so, following his eyes to where he was looking. On the ground before them were what appeared to be a few blood splatters. "…Looks like we're getting close."

Sakura nodded, and began following the splatters, Marco close behind and on high alert. It was rather dark, though, so she was having trouble seeing… but in a situation like this, wouldn't…

Sakura looked over at Marco. "I'm going to try putting my lessons to use," she told him, and he blinked a few times before nodding with a smile. Sakura closed her eyes and began straining her senses, focusing her _Haki _outwards. It was still weak, and everything was still blurry – like someone who needed glasses looking at the world without them – but she could make _something _out, she just wasn't sure what. Her head moved in that direction, and Marco placed a hand on her shoulder, breaking her focus and bringing her attention to him.

"Yeah. Something's in that direction, yoi," he nodded, then lifted a hand to his mouth. "Hey! We don't mean you any harm! We just want to help!"

There was no response at first, but after a bit the sound of bushes and leaves rustling could be heard, and a figure emerged from the bushes. Sakura squinted, blinked, then rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing what she was seeing.

Standing before the two of them, wounds clumsily wrapped by some cloth, stood what appeared to be a polar bear wearing a black boiler suit. Sakura stared blankly, before speaking up in disbelief. "…A polar bear. A polar bear wearing a boiler suit."

"I'm sorry…" the bear apologized, bowing to Sakura and Marco, which prompted her to yelp in shock.

"A _talking_ polar bear in a boiler suit," Sakura corrected herself weakly, and the bear was about to apologize again when Marco held up his hand.

"You're Bepo, aren't you?" he asked, bringing the bear's attention to him. "From the Heart Pirates. You're from the Grand Line."

The polar bear, Bepo, nodded. "And you're Marco the Phoenix…" he determined, walking closer to the two of them. "You… do you know how we can get back home?"

* * *

><p><em>And thus ends the chapter! <em>_**BEPO **__has joined the party! Now, let's get on to responding to reviews._

**_Wicken25:_**_ I had fun writing that part, I'm glad you enjoyed it~_

**_Krazyfanfiction1:_**_ Hopefully his hair doesn't turn gray during this whole spectacle. And thank you~!_

**_Skipper917: _**_As was revealed in my pre-chapter notes, you got two of those right. Congrats~_

**_The Keeper of Worlds:_**_ Thank you! And sadly, the Straw Hats likely won't be appearing in the story. Aside from Vivi and Carue, of course._

**_peppymint:_**_ Well, he just did, so wish granted!_

**_Daxen123:_**_ And find out we did. ;3_

**_Allykrau:_**_ Thank you! And... um... I don't think Kaku would be a good idea to put near pirates. Then again, Tashigi's probably gonna cause problems too._

**_xlunatica:_**_ YES, BEPO IS THE ADORABLE, I LOVE HIM SO I WANT TO KEEP HIM BUT I DON'T THINK LAW WOULD LET ME._

**_Guest:_**_ That I shall! (Although, I'm more of a 'ladette' ^^; )_

**_Fairy of the Friz: _**_You would be correct there! And thank you, always glad to hear it!_

**_Guest:_**_ (the other one) Thank you!_

**_Cyricist001:_**_ I imagine she'd find most of them terrifying. Especially Iva, his face would scare any normal person. I was admittedly a bit weirded out when I first saw it._

**_CrystalHeart27: _**_Thank you! And Sakura/Law... Hmm, well, I'm not really sure. I'd have to see how the two of them interact before doing that sort of thing. Though chances are if Sakura goes to the Grand Line, they will meet, now that Bepo's with them._

_And that covers it! See you next time, and hopefully it's not as long of a wait~!_

_-Ink_


	24. Chapter 24

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_I managed to finish this up when I was at the doctor's office today, so here's the next chapter! I admittedly don't really have any comments to add up here, so let's just get right to it!_

Chapter Twenty-Four

Bepo watched in awkward fascination as he sat across from Sakura while she held her hands over his wounds, a gentle green glow emanating from them. His fascination only increased as whatever it was she was doing was somehow healing his wounds, and it wasn't long before they had closed and he was starting to feel much better.

"That should do the trick," Sakura smiled as she stood up, dusting herself off. "How are you feeling?"

Bepo experimentally moved his arms and legs, before hopping to his feet and jabbing the air a few times. He smiled widely, turning to face Sakura. "I feel much better! Thank you!" He pulled her into a tight hug, and much to his surprise, after a moment she ended up hugging him _back_, and her grip was much stronger than her small stature let on.

"Yoi!" Marco, in phoenix form, called from a nearby tree branch he was perched on to keep watch for anyone who might be passing through the area. He flew down and changed back to his human form, landing gently as Sakura and Bepo let go of one another. "We should head back to town and get some rest. We need to keep traveling."

Bepo blinked a few times, largely out of confusion. "Why?" he asked. "Where are you going?"

"We're on a mission," Sakura began, and Bepo turned to her for further explanation. "The leader of our village wants us to explore the lands and find anyone else who may have been sent here from the Grand Line."

"Anyone else…" Bepo repeated under his breath as crossed his arms in thought. "Did that Devil's Fruit user teleport anyone after you?" he turned to Marco as he asked.

"After me? No, my crew would have been able to contain him after the beat down that I gave to him, yoi," Marco recalled. "Why do you ask?"

"He mentioned how many people he'd hit before me," Bepo clarified. "And he said he was going after the Whitebeard Pirates when he was done with us. So…" The bear tapped his foot as he hummed in thought. "He said… he'd sent seven people away already. So… including me and you, that's nine of us in total," Bepo concluded.

"Nine…" Sakura frowned. "So with you two, and Vivi and Carue, we have four. That means we have five more people to find," she determined, then sighed out of exasperation.

"On the bright side, that puts us about halfway there, yoi," Marco pointed out in an attempt to comfort her. "That should be plenty of time for Tsunade to figure out how to get us back home."

"I hope," Sakura sighed. "She doesn't know you guys are from another world, remember? She thinks you're just from some faraway country."

"So someone from your home is trying to figure out how to get us back home?" Bepo asked Sakura, who nodded in response. "That's great! I can get back to my crew, and the Captain!" Bepo thrust his arm into the air out of excitement in what Sakura recognized as the 'Cha!' pose she used to strike.

"I hope," Marco sighed, pressing his palm into his head. "That lack of knowledge may mean they can't figure it out, yoi."

"I'm sorry," Bepo hung his head. "I'm getting too excited…"

"Oh- no, don't worry about it-!" Sakura quickly cut in, waving her hands back and forth to further emphasize that it wasn't a big deal. "We'll figure something out. But… how are we going to put you into our cover story…"

"He could be Vivi's summon animal," Marco pointed out. "Carue can't talk, so he's a 'pet', but Bepo can, so he could be a summon."

"Summon?" Bepo asked, the expression on his face displaying just how confused he was by the term.

"Oh boy," Sakura sighed. "Let's start walking. We'll explain on the way back."

* * *

><p>The trip back had been largely uneventful, aside from a rather long-winded explanation of anything Bepo would need to know about the world he was in and for the sake of their cover story. By the time they'd gotten back, the group had been exhausted and decided to get some well-earned rest, and so it was only the next morning that Sakura had a chance to explain to Vivi and Carue what had happened last night. She'd been expecting some sort of surprised reaction, so when Vivi had simply responded by saying "Okay," and going to meet her new 'summon animal', Sakura had been left dumbfounded.<p>

It was only when they'd left the village after eating breakfast, and the group was walking down the dirt path towards their next destination, that Sakura got an explanation as to _why _Vivi had been so calm about the entire situation.

"When I was traveling with my nakama, we saw all sorts of things that were much stranger than this," she explained. "So I've learned to take these sorts of things in stride."

"Your nakama?" Sakura asked, and Vivi held her left wrist as she nodded.

"Yes, the Straw Hat Pirates," she explained, and Carue quacked and lifted his wing with what Sakura assumed was a smile. "I traveled with them for a few weeks. They took me from the Twin Capes all the way to Alabasta, my home. They helped me save my country, and invited me to keep traveling with them, but I had to turn them down so I could help rebuild and run my country." Vivi smiled. "But no matter what, we'll always be friends."

Sakura smiled gently at her, only to jump slightly when Bepo suddenly exclaimed, "You traveled with the Straw Hats?!"

Vivi blinked in confusion and turned to face him. "You know them?"

Bepo nodded. "We met on the Sabaody Archipelago," he explained. "Captain and I were at the auction house to see if there were any slaves we could free, when they came in and tried to free a mermaid friend of theirs, and then Straw Hat punched a World Noble in the face."

Sakura found herself extremely lost, and Marco sighed. "I guess we'd better explain to Sakura, yoi." Bepo and Vivi nodded. "We'll go into it when we stop for lunch."

A few hours, an ordered 'to-go' lunch, and a finding of a nice, quiet spot where the group could eat and talk freely later, Sakura found herself staring blankly at Vivi, Marco and Bepo. She'd just gotten a crash course in the politics of the Grand Line, and was quite frankly left speechless by the whole thing, especially with the earlier knowledge that Straw Hat Luffy – who was the Captain of the crew that Vivi had been traveling with – had punched one of these "World Nobles" in the face. She sputtered, blinked a few times, and bonked herself on the head to make sure she wasn't dreaming, but still found herself unable to form a coherent response.

"If it helps," Bepo offered. "The World Noble had just shot his friend because that friend was an octopus fishman."

More blank stares courtesy of Sakura prompted Marco and Vivi to sigh. "At this rate, we might as well tell her everything about our world, yoi," Marco groaned.

"I'm sorry," Bepo apologized, hanging his head.

One lunch, long-winded explanation, and departing to keep going towards their next destination later, Sakura found herself quietly wondering just what she had gotten herself into by taking the mission to help gather up the remaining people from the Grand Line who had been sent to her world. The remaining _five _people that were still somewhere out there doing _who knows _what.

Sakura cradled her head in her hands and sobbed quietly, vaguely noticing Marco patting her back to try and comfort her. At this stage, she could only hope that the list of the victims of the Devil's Fruit user didn't include any of the sorts of people who would harm others, be it physically or mentally. She could really only hope.

* * *

><p><em>Poor Sakura. Poor, poor Sakura. She has to deal with these nutjobs. Anyway, responses!<em>

**_peppymint:_**_ Bepo has joined the party!_

**_Allykrau:_**_ Eh, I figured it'd be a nice way to apologize for the delay._

**_Krazyfanfiction1:_**_ Animals and zoans seem to have a consistent theme of being assigned as 'summon animals' here. ;3_

**_CrystalHeart27:_**_ It's going to be terrible, because she's going to get ambushed by all of the Grand Liners at the same time, since they're taking a circular-ish path around the continent. She's going to need all the world's headache medicine._

**_rainwolf024: _**_Thank you~! It's always nice to know people enjoy the story! As far as meeting the Straw Hats... well, none of them are here, but it's a possibility if she heads back to the Grand Line with Marco~ Also, sorry for not updating daily, writing can take time, y'know? u_u;;_

**_The Keeper Of_**_** Worlds:**__ Thank you~ And yup, the very same (though I dunno if 'scared' is the right word...)_

**_Skipper917:_**_ Thank you!_

**_Shadowmage97: _**_A bear!_

**_Cyricist001: _**_We'll have to see what happens to them at the end of this arc to see if that's even a possibility, y'know?_

**_moon so bright:_**_ Thanks~_

_And that takes care of that! I'll see you guys next time~!_

_-Ink_


	25. Chapter 25

_**Ink's Notes: **_

_Yes I am aware it is 11:40 PM. No I do not care. Why do you ask?_

_Anyhow! I'm here with an update for you all, and also a notice that classes start soon for me so... well, it_ probably_ won't interfere with my updating, but my updates are sporadic as it is, so just a heads up, if there's a long period between updates, I'm either sick or busy with classwork. Just so you know. Well, shall we begin?_

Chapter Twenty-Five

Over the course of the next week, the rag-tag group of one shinobi and four Grand Line pirates traveled through the Land of Rivers, stopped in Suna to visit Gaara and the rest of Vivi's friends there, and made their way towards Ishigakure, getting a crash course in Haki courtesy of Marco (with some help from Bepo) during their travels. It was only when they were leaving Ishigakure and they told the gatekeepers that their next destination was Amegakure that they got a clue as to where another person from the Grand Line might be hiding.

"Are you sure you want to go there?" one of the gatekeepers asked, glancing at his partner uneasily. "There have been some pretty nasty rumors about that place."

"Nasty rumors?" Vivi found herself asking, and the other gatekeeper nodded.

"Yeah. We've had a few travelers come here from there, and they all come with stories that are weird initially but line up too much to be coincidence," the gatekeeper explained. She gave the group a quick once-over, before leaning in and speaking in a hushed whisper. "Laughter echoing throughout the streets at night, people becoming suddenly depressed, and some people have even reported seeing body parts and strange ghosts moving into walls."

Sakura and Vivi exchanged glances, while Marco crossed his arms in contemplation. Carue looked terrified, so Bepo pet him to try and comfort him, although the whole 'being pet by a polar bear' thing didn't seem to help – in fact, it just made things worse, prompting an apology from Bepo when Carue attempted to hide behind Vivi.

"Thanks for the warning," Sakura smiled, lifting her hand, "But we're really just going to stay there for a night, and then move on. We should be fine."

Both gatekeepers seemed relieved by this, and waved the group on through. It was only when they were well out of earshot that all eyes went to Marco.

"…What, yoi?" he asked, and Sakura and Vivi crossed their arms.

"We saw you considering what they'd said," Sakura frowned.

"What do you know?" Vivi pressed Marco, and he sighed in response.

"Not much, to be entirely honest," he explained. "But I feel like I've heard descriptions that match those rumors before."

Sakura and Vivi's expressions brightened. "That means that the one causing them may be from the Grand Line!" Sakura smiled, clapping her hands together. "All right! Full speed to Amegakure!"

Carue quacked in terror as Vivi climbed onto his back and Marco turned to Bepo. "Say, can you run quickly on all fours, yoi?" he asked.

Bepo nodded. "I can, but my crew doesn't like it when I do. They say I'm too fast for them to keep up with," he hung his head. "Sorry…"

"No, no, that's good!" Sakura smiled as Marco transformed into his full Zoan form. Bepo looked at her in surprise and confusion, so she explained. "We've been covering more ground by having Carue carry Vivi and Marco carry me, so we were worried you might get left behind, but if you're fast on all fours then it's not a problem!" Bepo's face lit up, and before long Sakura found herself being hugged again. "Um, Bepo? We won't be able to _go_ fast in the first place if you're hugging me."

Bepo hung his head and let go of her. "I'm sorry…"

Marco gently hit Bepo with his wing. "You apologize too much, yoi."

"Sorry…"

The phoenix sweatdropped. "Just try and be a bit more self-confident. You're on the crew of one of the Shichibukai, even if the World Government thinks you're their pet."

"Shichi…" Sakura blinked.

"I'll explain on the way, yoi."

* * *

><p>Thanks to their quickened pace, the group arrived in Amegakure just as the sun was going down. When the gatekeepers asked what a Konoha ninja was doing there, they quickly gave them the cover story that Vivi had come up with back in Konoha – she was a princess from a faraway land who had hired a bodyguard from Konoha so she could explore the land without fear of being in too much danger. <em>(Fortunately for their group, Marco had still been in phoenix form when they'd arrived.)<em> The gatekeepers believed them, and they got directions to the nearest inn from them, a warning to stay away from the Southern District, and guest passes in case someone asked what they were doing here. When Vivi asked why they had to stay away from the Southern District, the gatekeepers explained that several residents of the city had reported strange laughter and suddenly feeling depressed while wandering that area, before passing out and waking up to find themselves in a different part of the city.

So after they dropped off their things at an inn on the edge of town, Sakura, Marco, Vivi, Carue and Bepo all made their way to the Southern District to try and find the source of these rumors. By the time they arrived there, it was dark out, so the group was sticking together, Marco having shifted back into his human form on account of the rain.

"I don't like the rain," Bepo whined, attempting to brush the water out of his fur. "I don't like being wet."

"Neither do I," Marco admitted as he scanned the area. "Might be because I'm a bird, or because I'm made out of fire, but I don't enjoy it."

Vivi laughed. "Speak for yourselves. I come from a desert island, so rain is always welcome," she smiled, twirling around. She then paused and turned around, lifting her hand to point and opening her mouth to speak. No sooner than she had, four strange ghost-like creatures flew out, each one flying through a different member of their party. The only one that didn't get hit by a ghost was Bepo.

Sakura, Marco, Vivi and Carue found themselves on their hands and their knees, feeling strangely depressed. Sakura complained that she was a useless shinobi, Marco mulled over the fact that he couldn't protect his family, Vivi whined that she was a terrible princess, and Carue quacked in a full-on depression.

Bepo looked between his companions, flailing around in a state of panic. "G-Guys!? Are you okay!? What's going on?!" he yelped, waving his arms around before holding his head as he tried to figure out what was happening. At that moment, he thought he heard…

He paused, freezing in place when it became clear enough to make out. He thought he'd been imagining it, but now he could clearly hear a distant laughter that was echoing from above into the streets around them. He looked around, trying to identify the source of the laughter, but due to the way it was echoing, he simply wound up looking around in a state of panic as the laughter became louder and seemed to get closer.

_"Horohorohorohorohoro~"_

* * *

><p><em>...well, I think that's a pretty clear indication of who we're about to meet.<em>

**_Krazyfanfiction1:_**_ It's a possibility, though fishmen probably won't be appearing in the Shinobi's world._

**_Cyricist001:_**_ Well, we'll see. I'm still working out how that's gonna go._

**_Allykrau:_**_ I feel like Naruto would be a terrible idea for recruiting half of these people, but maybe that's just me._

**_CrystalHeart27: _**_I get the feeling another pinkette's about to have a life-size teddy bear soon enough ;D_

**_rainwolf024:_**_ HERE IS UPDATE, ENJOY THE UPDATE_

**_Skipper917:_**_ Thank you~_

**_The Keeper of Worlds:_**_ Oh god I didn't realize that, that was a total coincidence - I MEAN THAT WAS TOTALLY ON PURPOSE, YES, TOTALLY._

**_Guest:_**_ This is taking place post-timeskip, so Ace is kinda... um... really, really __**really **__dead right now? um. sorry. ._.;;_

_See you next time!_


	26. Chapter 26

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_Hello yes this is Ink, I got another chapter done so I'm posting said chapter, hope you enjoy the inherent silliness that's about to unfold._

Chapter Twenty-Six

Bepo found himself shivering in fright as a strange woman floated down before him, suspended in midair by the ghost-like creatures that had flown through his friends. The woman herself had an elegant air about her, and was wearing a poofy strapless dress that was layered alternately between black and light purple fabrics, had a pink tattoo of a bat on her left shoulder, red high-heeled boots and an overly large black top hat with white floral décor and red inner fabric. Her hair was long and curled downwards to her butt in four spiral braids, and it was pink in coloration, matching Sakura's in shade. If Bepo had ever been to Konoha, he might say that her eyes remind him of Rock Lee's, but on account of the two having never met he was unable to make this comparison. The woman held a red umbrella in her hands, the design of the umbrella reminding him vaguely of some sort of cute, miniature demon.

The woman lifted her hand to her mouth and laughed. "Horohorohorohoro~!" she smirked, looking over the group. "You shinobi should really know better than to wander into my…" She paused and fell silent as her eyes rested on Bepo. They locked eyes for a moment, before her face lit up in what Bepo considered an uncharacteristically happy grin and she floated over to him, wrapping her arms around the polar bear in a hug. Understandably, this elicited a reaction composed largely of Bepo yelling, flailing his arms around, and panicking at the sudden change in behavior. "Aahh, it's been so long since I've seen something so cute~!" the woman released a content sigh, leaning into him like a pillow. "And here I thought everything here was some sort of ugly creature or pathetic shinobi…"

"…Yoi. We're not shinobi." The woman blinked and looked over at Marco, who had stood up and was shaking the effects of whatever that ghost had hit him with out of his system. He gently nudged Sakura with his foot, only to find her still wallowing in depression, along with Vivi and Carue, then shrugged and turned his focus back onto the woman. "Well, Sakura is, but the rest of us aren't."

The woman stared at him, releasing Bepo, who honestly wasn't sure whether to be relieved that the strange woman was no longer holding him or upset that the woman who had called him cute was no longer holding him. She pouted childishly, floating up to Marco and looking him up and down, before tracing her hand along the mark on his chest. "This is…" she frowned, then floated backwards. "You're Marco the Phoenix, then." She crossed her arms with a hum, tilting to the side slightly as her ghosts adjusted to keep her aloft. "Hmm, I'm not sure if this is a good or a bad thing…"

"…Wh… what do you mean?" Sakura managed to get out as she slowly pushed herself to her feet, still shaking off the effects of the strange ghost.

"Well, on one hand, I may be able to get home now," the woman turned to Sakura as she responded, momentarily taking note of the fact that they both had pink hair before continuing. "On the other hand, it means that I'll have to leave this wonderful place…" She sighed and leaned her cheek onto her hand, eliciting a stare from both Marco and Sakura.

"…You have weird tastes, yoi," Marco deadpanned. "Who are you?"

"I should be asking you that," the woman huffed and crossed her arms, noting that Vivi and Carue were both getting to their feet, using each other as support. "I had originally intended for my negative hollows to render you helpless so I could knock you out and drop you off in a different part of town, but here you are…" She scanned over their group. "One shiobi and four people from the Grand Line, right?" A weak nod from Vivi confirmed this. "So I at least deserve an explanation."

After a moment's pause, Sakura spoke up. "You're the one who attacked us," she pointed out. "Your explanation is a bit… selfish, but I suppose you had to survive. Still, you should make it up to us for hitting us with those… negative hollow things?"

The woman frowned, then smiled at Sakura and giggled as she spoke. "All right, but on one condition – you _have _to tell me how you keep your hair in such good condition here." Sakura sweatdropped as the woman twirled her umbrella and gently curtsied. "My name is Perona, the Ghost Princess. I ate the Horo Horo no Mi, making me a hollow woman." To demonstrate, she held out her hand, and a few miniature versions of her 'negative hollows' appeared above it. "Now, you all are?"

Sakura decided to introduce herself first. "Sakura Haruno. I'm a shinobi from Konohagakure, the village hidden in the leaves." She motioned to her friends. "I've been assigned a mission to find the people who were sent here from the Grand Line in hopes of helping them get home."

"Ah, my name's Bepo, navigator of the Heart Pirates," Bepo greeted. Marco glanced at him with a brief look of disbelief, before shrugging and realizing he'd honestly seen stranger things on the Grand Line.

"You know who I am, but for the sake of formality, Marco the Phoenix, acting Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates," Marco placed a comforting hand on Sakura's shoulder with a smile, and Sakura realized he was implying that she was part of his crew, but didn't object.

"I'm Vivi Neferati," Vivi greeted with a gentle bow. "Princess of Alabasta. This is my pet, Carue." Carue quacked and raised his wing in greeting.

"Oh, a fellow Princess?" Perona smiled and floated over to Vivi. "What sort of kingdom do you rule over?"

"Ah- it's a desert kingdom," Vivi explained. "And I wouldn't say I _rule _over it, my father still does most of the work, although he's been sick lately…"

Sakura watched as Perona and Vivi began discussing castles, kingdoms, and servants, Vivi somewhat weirded out by Perona's preference for the dark and dreary. She looked over at Bepo, who was fidgeting and honestly seemed a little bit out of place before looking at Marco, who was gazing off into the distance. She paused and approached him just as he looked back over at the group. "Marco, is something wrong?"

"Ah- no, not at all," he frowned, scratching behind his head and glancing in the direction that he'd been looking before. "Just thought I picked up on someone is all, yoi."

Sakura nodded in understanding before looking over at the two princesses. "Hey, guys," she interjected, bringing their attention over to herself. "We should probably head over to our lodgings and fill Perona in on our cover story, maybe make a few adjustments based on her presence in our group." Vivi blinked and nodded, causing Perona to look back and forth between the group in confusion.

"Cover story?" she asked, and Bepo nodded as he approached her.

"Y-Yeah, we don't really want it getting out that we're from another world," he pointed out, "So we've been using terms that the shinobi use to keep suspicion off of ourselves."

Perona nodded with a hum, before wrapping her arms around Bepo, causing him to begin flailing out of panic again. "As long as I get to stay near my adorable Bepo, I'll gladly go along with your cover story," she sighed in contentment.

Sakura, Marco, Vivi and Carue all simultaneously sweatdropped at the scene before them. "It's going to be a long night, isn't it?" Sakura asked.

"I get the feeling we're not going to be getting much sleep, yoi," Marco agreed.

* * *

><p><em>So ends this chapter! Things are gonna... well... I don't want to say, but you'll see soon enough.<em>

**_Narumiyu: _**_That'll have to wait until they get back to Konoha, but we'll see~_

**_Krazyfanfiction1:_**_ Yup! PERONA has joined the party!_

**_Allykrau:_**_ True, but he's also kind of a dumb at times._

_**The Keeper of Worlds: **__Yup. It'll be fun to see her in combat._

**_Guest:_**_ You guessed correctly! Bepo is now her hugging toy, much to his both dismay and delight. He's not really sure how to react._

**_rainwolf024: _**_Well here is update, and I think they'll get along on account of both having pink hair. Silly, but why the heck not?_

**_dragonfire1237:_**_ Thank you~ I'll be sure to do so, I'm glad you enjoy the story!_

_That about ends the chapter. I've been on a bit of a roll lately, but also, y'know, classes and such. So... ah, I guess just keep an eye out for the next update~!_

_-Ink_


	27. Chapter 27

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_...~_

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Once Perona had been filled in on their cover story, and considering her attraction to Bepo on account of finding him adorable _(which Bepo still had no idea how to react to)_, the group decided to update said cover story with Bepo _being Perona's_ summon animal. This had the added bonus of helping to avoid any confusion about why a Princess would have a summon animal and why she would need to hire a shinobi bodyguard in the first place. Perona had also contributed an element to their cover story herself, which was that she and Sakura were long-lost siblings who had been separated at birth. That was why she, a non-shinobi, was traveling with a shinobi who had been hired for a job – they were using it as a way of bonding with one another after so many years of being apart. Perona had come up with this largely on account of the fact that both of them had pink hair, which amused her to no end for some reason, and it wasn't exactly a common hair color in the world of shinobi.

In fact, abnormal hair colors were _very_ unusual in the world of shinobi, and Vivi had gotten a few awkward glances and picked up on a few muttered questions and insults because of her blue hair. Upon telling the others, they informed her that some people were just stupid like that, and they all knew that odd hair colors were commonplace in the Grand Line so it didn't matter that her hair was blue. Upon learning this information, Sakura had jokingly stated that a possible way of figuring out who else was from the Grand Line was to look for or ask about people with unusual hair colors. Much to her surprise, Vivi thought it was a plausible idea, and it was this logic that led them to ask if anyone had seen or heard about people with unusual hair colors while they were in Iwagakure.

The group was shocked when they were told about a group of five people who had stopped in the village briefly for supplies, most of them having unusual hair colors. Apparently, aside from one young man with black hair, they all had strange hair colors – there were two other men, one with white hair and one with orange hair, and two women, one who had red hair and one who had dark blue hair.

Sakura decided that this was as good of a lead as any, and asked which way they had gone. The one who had told them informed the group that they had headed East towards Takigakure and had left sometime early that morning, so if they moved quickly they might be able to catch up to them. After thanking the people profusely, the group had quickly made sure they had everything they needed before leaving the village as quickly as they could.

Their method of fast travel had been slightly updated – Vivi still rode on Carue's back while Sakura rode on Marco's back at least fifty feet above them to keep an eye out for anything suspicious – but now Perona was riding on Bepo's back while the bear ran on all fours alongside Vivi and Carue. During these times, Bepo would give the girls some pointers on Haki, while Marco did the same for Sakura up in the sky.

"Marco," Sakura began as she scanned the forest below them. "You've been awfully quiet in regards to things involving the Grand Line lately, and I've caught you looking around when we talk about it in private. Is something wrong?"

Marco frowned. "Yoi… you're rather observant, Sakura."

"Shinobi always have to be alert of their surroundings, in case of an ambush or a trap. It's ground into us from day one of our training at the academy," Sakura practically recited, stroking his back gently.

Marco nodded, flapping his wings to maintain their altitude and speed. "Since we left Konoha, I've periodically picked up a few people with my Haki. Far away enough to not be able to hear us, so it wasn't a problem for us before… but ever since we left Amekagure, I've felt someone else in addition to the earlier ones, with this one being less careful as far as distance goes, but…" he hummed in quiet contemplation. "It's almost like they're part of the environment, like they can become part of it, or they're made of it. Like a Logia or something similar." He glanced down somewhere to their right, then frowned and moved his eyes back to their route. "Someone's following us, yoi. At least two groups, working independently of one another. We need to be more careful."

Sakura frowned, then nodded. "I understand." She paused when she saw Bepo and Carue pulling to a halt below them. "Marco-"

"I know," he nodded, gliding down before gently landing and letting Sakura off of his back, but remaining in phoenix form. "What's up, yoi?"

"We were practicing Haki," Bepo explained, lifting his paw and pointing to a part of the surrounding forest, "When we picked up on something in that direction. Perona's about to send some of her negative hollows to investigate." As he spoke, Perona lifted her hands, the strange cartoon-like ghosts forming around her and flying off in the direction Bepo had pointed, moving through the trees to remain hidden.

"While we wait, why don't we try and feel it out?" Sakura offered, closing her eyes to try and practice her Haki. She slowly felt things become more clear, even so much as ducking when Marco gently swung his wing at the back of her head to make sure she was still alert towards her surroundings. Before long, she'd picked up on a few things – five people about fifty feet away in the direction that Bepo had pointed, and something about twenty feet back that felt like nature but not _quite_. Sakura frowned and focused in on the five people, trying to see what she could figure out. She quickly noticed that while one of them felt somewhat similar to her companions, the other four felt more like home, one even more so than the rest. They each had a unique feel about them – one felt like the calm before the storm, one felt like the ocean waves, one felt like a calm beast, and the fourth felt warm and comforting.

She paused at the fourth, noticing that it seemed to be feeling her out as well, and quickly broke her focus with her Haki, opening her eyes and shooting a quick glare at Marco for his earlier stunt. "You should learn to use your Haki with your eyes open, yoi," he explained. "More useful in combat that way."

At that moment, Perona's negative hollows returned. "Five people hiding in the undergrowth of the forest in the direction we thought," she smiled cheekily as the ghosts vanished. "Black hair, white hair, orange hair, red hair, and dark blue hair. Sounds like who we're looking for."

"Anything else?" Vivi asked, and Perona shook her head.

"The red head seemed to notice my ghosts, so I called them back before they could get caught. I didn't want to risk them being seen." Perona smiled. "But why don't we go and say hello?"

The group nodded, and Marco shrunk himself down so he could perch on Sakura's shoulder for easier travel through the trees. The group began making their way through them, moving carefully and cautiously.

"Be ready for a fight, yoi," Marco spoke with a low voice, but loudly enough so that the group could hear him. "I'm sensing some hostile intent."

Vivi nodded, moving her hand to where she stored her peacock slashers, while Sakura moved a hand to her kunai pouch. Bepo, Carue and Perona didn't use weapons, so they simply readied themselves for anything that might come at them.

When they emerged from the trees that they'd been moving through into a small clearing hidden from sight by the thickness of the forest around them, they were greeted by the sight of five people, each of them looking ready for some kind of battle. Sakura ran her eyes over the group, scanning them both for threat level and potential clues as to if they were from the Grand Line. In order, she noted a red-haired woman with glasses who appeared to be about her age, a rather tall and broad man with spiky orange hair whose features were largely covered by a heavy cloak but she could still feel something wasn't quite _right_ about him, a shark-like man with white hair who had what Sakura recognized as Zabuza's sword on his back, a woman with dark blue hair tied into a ponytail, wearing glasses and a long pink coat with some sort of foreign-looking embellishment, and…

Sakura froze as her eyes fell on the last member of the group. A person who she had spent many precious moments with, who she had pined over for years, trained for the sake of getting strong enough not only to protect her precious people, but to be able to bring him back home. A person who, last she had seen him, had attempted to kill her and her teammates, despite that he himself used to be one of them…

Sakura opened her mouth to say something, anything. When she managed to speak, she was only able to say one thing.

"Sasuke-Kun…?"

* * *

><p><em>Mfufufufufufufu~<em>

**_Krazyfanfiction1: _**_...I'm not entirely sure that's something that I want to think about._

**_rainwolf024: _**_here is updoot, sorry for the delay~_

**_Allykrau: _**_Yeah, Dragonball was basically the 'starting point' of shonen manga from what I understand, so lots of elements are similar._

**_The Keeper of Worlds:_**_ Well, we have some hints in here~_

**_Skipper917:_**_ Well, we'll just have to wait and see what happens, won't we~?_

_That's about all for this chapter! The next few... well... I imagine things are going to get hectic __**fast**__. Until next time~ -Ink_


	28. Chapter 28

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_Hello everyone! I think from now on I'm gonna respond to reviews up here, then post closing thoughts after the chapter. So, here we go!_

**_Krazyfanfiction1:_**_ It has never been about to hit the fan more so than it is right now. Er, at least in this fanfiction. It's probably hit the fan with more intensity in other places._

**_The Keeper of Worlds:_**_ So incredibly messy that it's the messiest mess of messes._

**_Guest:_**_ I... um... wow, that's an awful lot of responsibility._

**_Narumiyu:_**_ Marco vs Sasuke, hmm~?_

**_CrystalHeart27:_**_ HERE IS NEXT CHAPTER I HOPE IT LIVES UP TO YOUR EXPECTATIONS_

**_Cyricist001: _**_Well, we'll see how it plays out. Although, all things considered... those are some __**very **__good points._

**_Shadowmage97: _**_Thank you~_

**_Fairy of the Friz:_**_ *offers towel for you to clutch while you fangirl* ...I dunno, seemed like a good idea?_

**_Allykrau:_**_ Yeah, I remember reading somewhere that while Dragonball Z is based on the concept of childhood dreams, One Piece is based on MANLY DREAMS although I don't know how true that is._

**_Skipper917: _**_Thank you very much for the compliment~_

**_Anime1FREAK:_**_ Talk about a weird coincidence. HERE IS THE UPDATE!_

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Emotions flooded Sakura's mind, paralyzing her in a situation that she knew she couldn't remain frozen in. All of her training was screaming at her, all of her instincts were lecturing her, all of her common sense was smacking her. But here she was, facing off against the very man who she'd strived so hard for the sake of, the companions she was helping standing by her side and the new family that she had found that was currently sitting on her shoulder. Sakura began trying to force the emotions to the back of her mind, to focus on the situation before her, to face things as a Shinobi would, not as an emotional teenager would, because she was stronger now, she wasn't the child that she had been three years ago; but here he was, the man, _that _man, the one who she-

Her inner musings were interrupted by an outraged cry of _"Marco the Phoenix!" _from someone, and all attention immediately snapped to the blue haired woman as she drew her sword, rage etched into her face. "So you were here as well!"

"Well, that's who we're looking for," Perona's tone was deadpan, but she smiled as she created a few of her negative hollows, and they began hovering in the air around her. "We'll just be taking her off of your hands, if the four of you don't mind."

Noticing the hostile air emanating from the people across from them, especially the woman with dark blue hair, Vivi, Carue and Bepo all took battle stances, and in response Sasuke and his companions did the same. Sakura, however, remained stationary, body shaking – a detail that Marco had not missed. He lifted a wing and placed it on her head, gently stroking her hair in an attempt to snap her out of her trance. His attention, however, was soon diverted when a snort came from the opposing group.

"Is this really how weak you've become, Sakura?" Sasuke was taunting her, hand moving towards his blade as he prepared to face off against the group. "Relying on a _bird_ of all things to help you in a dangerous situation." He paused in confusion when Marco's head snapped towards him, rage burning in his eyes, but continued to speak even as he activated his _Sharingan_. "Not to mention these so-called allies you've gathered. They hardly look like much of a threat."

"Don't underestimate them, Sasuke," the red haired woman warned him as she adjusted her glasses. "The one with long, pink hair has some sort of weird ability, and they all seem to be from the same place as Tashigi, so we have no way of knowing what they're capable of."

Vivi's eyes moved to her. "You- how can you tell that?" she questioned, even as she began spinning her peacock slashers in anticipation.

"She has some sort of sensory ability," Sakura finally managed to speak, hands shaking even as she moved one towards her kunai pouch. "I picked up on it a little bit earlier when I was feeling them out…"

"So that was you," the red head noted, taking out a kunai and lifting it into a battle position. "Still, Tashigi's part of Hebi. We won't give her up without a fight."

"**_Good._**" All eyes went to Marco, whose tone was laced with venom and whose expression was downright feral. Sakura was visibly startled by the uncharacteristic shift in emotions, and Tashigi was downright afraid. The rest of the Grand Line natives were also unnerved, the red haired woman took a step back, the white haired one seemed somehow interested and worried at the same time, and the orange haired man seemed startled.

"Karin. Suigetsu. Jugo. What's gotten into you?" Sasuke turned to look at his teammates, obviously confused by their behavior. "It's just a b-"

He didn't get a chance to finish the sentence as Marco closed the distance between the two of them in an instant and slammed a Haki-infused talon into Sasuke's face with a sweeping kick. The sheer force of the blow sent him tumbling across the ground until he crashed into a tree, and by the time the gathered party had processed what had happened, Marco was back in human form and Sasuke was getting to his feet, rubbing his now bleeding cheek.

"…_What_ _just_ _happened_!?" Suigetsu voiced the thought on everyone's minds as he looked between Marco and Sasuke, visibly startled by the speed of the attack and the fact that the bird was now a human. When it became clear that no one was going to answer, largely because they had no idea themselves, he grabbed the sword on his back and charged forwards towards Marco, only to be intercepted by Bepo, who blocked his downwards slash with an upwards kick coated in Haki.

As if this were some sort of cue, Karin moved to try and reach Sasuke's side, only to have her path blocked by Vivi, who was riding on Carue's back. Jugo's arms contorted to have some sort of monstrous appearance, only for negative hollows to surround him as Perona floated just out of his reach in the air above him. This left Tashigi faing off against Sakura, who'd taken out a kunai on account of Tashigi's sword to even the field, if only slightly.

"You're a Shinobi, aren't you?" Tashigi asked as she held her blade at the ready, staring Sakura down as she quietly sized her potential opponent up. Sakura simply nodded, wondering where she was going with this. "Then why are you associating with Pirates?! Pirates are the bad guys, just like Marines are the good guys!"

Sakura scoffed at Tashigi's statement. "I could say the same for you," she countered. Judging by what you're saying, you're a Marine, right?" Tashigi nodded. "If that's the case, then why are you associating with Missing-Nin, who are just as bad, if not worse, than Pirates? Pirates at least have the potential to just be seeking freedom, whereas Missing-Nin are always known criminals!"

This seemed to dent Tashigi's resolve slightly, but it evidently enraged her more as she still charged forwards at Sakura, who readied herself to parry the incoming swipe. Before long, the two were exchanging blows, parrying and swining at one another, Marine with a katana and Shinobi with a kunai.

Across the clearing, Sasuke was on his feet, rubbing his cheek with one arm as he took out his sword with his free hand. "Hey. What's the big idea?" When Marco didn't respond on account of the fact that he was still quietly seething with anger, Sasuke simply let chakra flow through his blade, enveloping it in electricity. "Attacking me like that is getting yourself into a losing battle."

Marco slid his legs apart as they shifted into talons from the knees down. "You hurt Sakura. Even without my Haki, I could tell. I don't know what you did, or what you are to her, but I don't care. Sakura is my nakama." With that, the two charged at one another, Sasuke swinging his blade at Marco, who caught it in a Haki-clad talon, effectively protecting himself from the electrical chakra flowing through it. The look in Marco's eyes was downright terrifying, and with his _Sharingan_ active, Sasuke could tell exactly how _furious _Marco was. The sheer amount of anger that was radiating off of him was almost enough to make Sasuke back off. _Almost_. Sasuke was an Uchiha, a superior ninja. This man who could transform into a bird wasn't a threat. He could take him down with ease.

It was just… something about his disposition, and that blow from earlier, and how he wasn't able to move his sword at all with the man's talon wrapped around it… something, maybe it was the _Sharingan_, or maybe it was his battle instinct, but something was telling him to back off, to stop this fight while he still had a chance to get away. Still, he had to know. Where was this man drawing that kind of strength and intimidating aura from? "And?" he pressed, trying to pull his sword free from Marco's grip. "Is there a problem with me doing that?"

"You hurt and insulted my family," Marco flatly responded, tightening his talon around the katana and shattering it where he was gripping it. "**_Nobody _**hurts or insults my family."

* * *

><p><em>I've always seen Sasuke as being rather cocky, since... I mean, I think he lost maybe two fights total in the series? And he had basically everything given to him on account of being the last (loyal) Uchiha... anyway, the match-ups are as follows!<em>

_Sasuke vs Marco, Suigetsu vs Bepo, Karin vs Vivi and Carue, Jugo vs Perona, and Tashigi vs Sakura!_

_See you guys next time! -Ink_


	29. Chapter 29

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_It is 12:45 AM, but I can't sleep because I took a three-hour nap today, so I spent some time writing and now I have a this. Fight scenes have never been my forte, but I suppose I needa work on it eventually. Here we go!_

_Also, when I wasn't looking, the story reached 100 favs? Dear gods you guys I didn't think this would wind up becoming so popular o-o;; Um, do you think I should do something special to celebrate, or maybe make omake chapters, or something? Thoughts? I feel like I should celebrate somehow..._

**_Krazyfanfiction1:_**_ HER WORLD WILL SHATTER AROUND HER. BREAK, MY PRETTY, BREAK, AHAHAHAHAHA-_

**_The Keeper of Worlds:_**_ That would be an... interesting experience, but I'm not sure how likely it is to happen. Depends how long it takes Marco to figure out how to fight the Sharingan, I guess._

**_Cyricist001: _**_Well, we have Karin vs Vivi now, so we'll see how it goes. As far as Sasuke's treatment... well, when you pity someone, you help them along, no matter how subtly it is, and around Chunin exams he started getting practically handed power-ups (cursed seal, chidori, etc). With the whole Gaara thing... I feel like that wasn't really explained that well, Kakashi could have gone to Naruto and said "Hey, I'm doing the thing because of this, but I've contacted a guy who can help you and he'll probably be here like tomorrow or something, but in the meantime you can train with this guy to go over the stuff you missed at the academy, and once the exams are over I can give you a proper training session but for now I needa make sure Sasuke doesn't die," y'know what I'm saying? I guess that whole bit just frustrates me, though._

**_Allykrau:_**_ I feel like the series won't end when they find the One Piece, somehow. Like, not in the sense that it'll keep going, but in the sense that it'll be the catalyst for the finale. Y'know?_

**_rainwolf024:_**_ We'll see how Sakura vs Tashigi plays out when it gets there, but for now... RED HAIR VS BLUE HAIR PLACE YOUR BETS_

**_Fairy of the Friz: _**_...are... are you okay?_

**_Skipper917: _**_WELL HERE IS THE NEXT CHAPTER~_

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Karin looked her opponents up and down, focusing her senses on the blue haired woman and her abnormally large duck. The two didn't look like much, but she needed to be sure – Tashigi hadn't looked like much either, and she'd been able to match up to Sasuke with swordsmanship alone, no matter how short the fight had been.

Karin frowned. Her sensory skills were largely useless against people from wherever it was that Tashigi was from. They only had the most basic of chakra pathways, and even then those pathways clearly weren't useable. When she was feeling them out, she was able to tell where they were because there was a _lack _of chakra flowing in their position, not the other way around. In fact, as she tried to sense out her opponents, she noticed that they didn't even seem to have anything vaguely resembling chakra at _all_. Karin strained her senses to see if she could pick up on anything, any sign that her opponents were about to do something, to the point where she began to feel the other people in the clearing as well. Her expression changed as she noticed that, besides that Shinobi the group they were facing off against had been traveling with (hadn't Sasuke called her Sakura?), there were two other people in her group who had chakra.

…_No_, Karin mused to herself. It wasn't chakra. It just felt like it to the untrained senses. Behind her, the feeling was very close to chakra, but it felt empty, depressing and hollow. In front of her, facing off against Sasuke, what she could only describe as gentle yet passionate flames that seemed to act and react like chakra would.

Flames that had such a high degree of sheer _rage _that it made her shiver. She needed to get past this woman and her duck so she could help Sasuke. He had the _Sharingan_, yes, but the man before him wasn't a Shinobi. If what she'd vaguely caught Tashigi saying to that Sakura woman was true, he was a p_irate_. A pirate who had something almost like fire instead of chakra. A pirate whose techniques weren't jutsu, whose fighting style they knew nothing about, whose abilities they knew even less about.

A pirate who was barely masking his rage, who was _furious_, who was directing all of that towards Sasuke…

Karin needed to move, to at least warn him of the danger that he was in. She adjusted her stance and moved forwards, only to be intercepted by the woman's duck. While she'd been musing over what to do, she'd lost track of the woman, who was nowhere to be seen, but Karin needed to get to Sasuke. She readied her kunai, only to get pecked in the face by the duck's large bill. Stumbling backwards, she brought the kunai upwards to swipe at the duck, which jumped backwards in response. When her arm was in the air, she felt something wrap around it and pull it backwards, and Karin yelped from both the uncomfortable position and the feeling of cool metal piercing her skin. She turned her head to see the woman behind her, one arm holding and pulling a string of sorts, the other spinning a peacock slasher and readying herself to attack. Karin followed the path of the string to her arm, where another peacock slasher had been wrapped around her wrist. Karin took a step towards the woman, turning her body and arm as she did to a more comfortable position. She dropped her kunai so she could grip the wire around her wrist as she moved her arm, wincing from the razor-sharp wire, but ignoring the pain. The blue-haired woman seemed to understand her intentions, though, and as Karin tugged the wire to pull her off balance, she simply ran forwards with the movement, wrapping her hand around and gripping the wire as well. With the distance rapidly closing between them, Karin prepared another kunai, only to pick up on the duck in her sensory range and have to drop under him swiping a wing at her head, leaving her open to the blue-haired woman slamming her knee into her gut.

Karin coughed, forcing herself to keep a firm grip on the woman's weapon as she smirked and looked up at her. The woman herself didn't seem to be afraid, as far as her senses could tell, and if anything she had a blazing determination to help the people around her. Karin mentally cursed herself for being a support type, before straightening out and deciding to try a different tactic.

"Why won't you let me help him?" she asked, slowly and methodically reaching for another weapon. "He's precious to me. I don't want him to get hurt too badly."

The woman frowned in response, tugging on the wire that was keeping them close to one another. Karin winced in pain, but attempted to keep a friendly disposition while dealing with the woman.

"Your friend hurt one of mine," she responded. "I've learned a lot of things in my travels, but if one thing stands out, it's that only the worst of the worst insult others' nakama." The duck quacked in agreement as Karin's hand reached her weapon pouch. "So you, who support such a man, are either being fooled or are just as bad as he is."

Upon hearing those words, Karin decided to completely forgo even the premise of being friendly, grabbing a kunai from her pouch and positioning it in her hand. "How dare you! Sasuke is far greater than you could ever know!" She brought the kunai towards the woman, only to have to adjust at the last minute as the duck attempted to peck her again. The woman reached out and grabbed Karin's hand, holding it firmly in place even as the kunai pierced her skin while the duck quacked out in panic, flailing and checked her over.

"It's okay, Carue. I'm fine. Don't worry about me," she smiled at the duck that was apparently named Carue, who gave an overly dramatic sigh of relief. The woman then turned her attention back to Karin. "Listen to yourself! You're praising him when he insulted our group right in front of you! Why do you follow him!? What kind of hold does he have over you that makes you so willing to take his side no matter what he says or does?!" Karin felt the passion of the woman's emotions even as she struggled against her grip, in an attempt to break free and fight back. "A good man doesn't insult other people's nakama! Stop this nonsense! Nobody has to get hurt!"

Karin slowly felt herself stop struggling as the woman's words and emotions hit close to home. Was it possible that she was right? That Sasuke wasn't really the man she thought he was, that had saved her so long ago? She felt her body shaking even as the woman slowly released her, and she fell to her knees, staring at the ground. Much to her surprise, the woman put away her weapons and offered her hand with a smile, and her senses told her that there was no hostile intent behind the motion.

"What am I supposed to do?" she slowly asked, staring at the woman's hand. "If he's really that sort of person… if that's really the case… what do I do with my life?"

"Find your nakama," the woman smiled, reaching down and taking Karin's hand in her own. "They're out there somewhere. I was at my worst point when I found mine, and not only did they save me, but they saved my home as well."

Karin allowed herself to be helped to her feet and slowly nodded. "…My name is Karin," she forced herself to say with a weak smile.

The blue haired woman smiled in response. "Vivi. It's a pleasure to meet you."

* * *

><p><em>So... I wasn't quite sure how to go about this at first. See, Karin doesn't do much fighting, especially in the area of the series that this is slated to take place in - so we don't really get a gauge on her combat abilities, aside from that she's a healer and a sensor. Her specialty is supporting others, so when she's facing off against two opponents who work in perfect sync with one another, she's going to have at least a little bit of trouble. Vivi, on the other hand, I have absolutely no way of knowing how strong she is in comparison to the others. Her last visible fight was <em>_**way **__back in Alabasta, but it's been at least two years since that happened, and who's to say she didn't also train during the time skip to help keep her country safe? Ultimately, I decided a battle of words and wills was better suited to these two... and in doing so I accidentally paved the course for the rest of the fights as well._

_What do I mean by that? Well... you'll see next time._

_-Ink_


	30. Chapter 30

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_[MUFFLED SCREAMS IN THE DISTANCE] I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG I WILL EXPLAIN AFTER THE CHAPTER AAAAAAAAAAA_

**_Krazyfanfiction1:_**_ I... I have no idea. That is a question for SCIENCE! *dons science goggles*_

**_Allykrau:_**_ We'll have to find out when the time approaches! ...who knows how long it'll take._

**_Freedom its2l8:_**_ With the power of FRIENDSHIP!_

**_Cyricist001:_**_ Yeah that's one of the reasons it got harder for me to read Naruto _

**_Spear:_**_ Thank you! And here is upoot._

**_The Keeper of Worlds:_**_ Looking back on it, yeah, it did sorta happen real fast. I was trying to show that Vivi's emotions and words hit Karin hard, though probably went about it too fast. *shrug*_

**_XxFire-PhoenixxX:_**_ It's okay, sweetie :3_

**_Fairy of the Friz: _**_Thank you~!_

**_Guest:_**_ Hurrah indeed!_

**_Skipper917:_**_ She got the nakama beaten into her._

Chapter Thirty

Suigetsu continued to try and keep out of the bear's range, dodging swipe after swipe, kick after kick, claw after claw. He wasn't sure how a _bear _of all things was able to do it, but the bear could _hit _him and _hurt_ him, no matter how much he manipulated his own body into a liquid state to try and avoid getting hit in the first place.

Also, the bear was wearing a boiler suit for some reason. _Bears didn't do that._

The bear back flipped and landed a few feet away, balancing on one foot and lifting his arms in a combat stance that vaguely reminded Suigetsu of a crane. "I won't let you hurt my friends!" he declared, slamming his raised foot into the ground to push off of it in order to generate a boost in speed and charge at Suigetsu again.

_And_ _talking_, Suigetsu mentally revised his earlier train of thought as he brought his sword in front of himself to block the bear's strike, the mere force behind the blow pushing him backwards a few feet. He paused a moment as he processed this new information, then stared at the bear incredulously. "How the hell is a bear able to talk and fight!?" he barked at the offending creature.

The bear blinked a few times, then immediately stood straight and bowed deeply. "I'm sorry," he apologized, and Suigetsu swore he could _see_ the depression rolling off of the bear in waves.

Suigetsu felt his head throbbing in frustration. "You apologize way too easily!" he snapped. "Weren't we fighting just a second ago!? Don't apologize to your opponent!"

"Ah. You have a point," the bear realized, hitting his palm with his paw, then launched himself at Suigetstu again. Suigetsu mentally cursed himself for reminding the bear that they were fighting, especially since he'd been **losing** _(he still didn't know how that was happening)_, and continued to block the bear's blows with his sword, fearing for what would happen if he connected with his body.

It happened fast, almost too fast for him to keep track of. Suigetsu made some distance between them and went on the offensive, bringing the blade down in a vertical slash. The bear dodged to the right, then hit Suigetsu's wrist with his palm. This time, the attack broke through his wrist as his hand became water and slid off of the sword, and the bear reacted by grabbing the blade and hurling it towards a tree in the area that Tashigi was fighting that girl who was apparently called Sakura. Suigetsu was about to call out a warning when both Tashigi and Sakura instinctively ducked under the blade, allowing it to embed itself into a tree somewhere off to their side. He didn't have much chance to do anything else when the bear planted a firm kick into Suigetsu's face, and he was sent tumbling several feet backwards, coming to a halt flat on his face. He pushed himself up on his arms, only to yelp and push himself backwards in shock as the bear slammed his foot down where his head had been only minutes ago.

"Che-" Suigetsu adjusted his stance now that his sword was temporarily unavailable, bringing his hands up. He began going through hand signs as quickly as he could, only to have his hands kicked then grabbed by the bear.

"No you don't! I've seen what that weird sign language does!" the bear growled, bringing Suigetsu's hands down into the ground with a mighty shove and an audible _crack_. He screamed in pain, and for a moment he felt the eyes of several people on the battlefield fall on his fight before something brought their focus back to where it should be. Suigetsu forced his hands into a more liquefied state to attempt to restore them to their normal state, but with that keeping him busy he was unable to block the barrage of kicks that the bear released upon him. He went tumbling back, and he swore he saw a flash of red before his face hit the ground again.

Suigetsu felt himself being lifted by the back of the shirt and being sat on the ground. Realizing what the flash of red he'd seen was, he braced himself for a beating courtesy of Karin, so naturally he was surprised when she simply got onto her knees next to him. She reached for his hands and he quickly pulled away, only to receive a scolding from her telling him to hold still. He was reluctant at first, of course, but when she simply placed his hands in her lap and began working on healing them, he slowly relaxed. Suigetsu opened his mouth to ask why the attack had stopped when he picked up on the conversation that had just begun a few feet away.

"It's okay, Bepo!" The blue haired woman who'd been fighting Karin not too long ago was standing between them, arms outstretched, one hand bleeding, and the bear had stopped attacking on account of one of his allies being in the way. "These guys aren't bad people. Misguided, maybe, but they're not _bad_. They're like pirates who are following the wrong Captain."

Bepo didn't seem too sure about that, but he seemed to realize that she wasn't moving anytime soon, so he relaxed his stance as Karin finished healing Suigetsu's hands. "Vivi," Karin called to the blue haired woman, who looked over at her. "We should probably stop Jugo and…" She motioned for a name, and Vivi provided one for her. "…Perona next, then Tashigi and Sakura before we even _think_ about getting involved in Sasuke's fight." Suigestu noticed the usual smitten tone wasn't there when Karin said Sasuke's name, and he found himself wondering just what the heck she and Vivi had talked about during their fight.

Vivi nodded, then looked back at Bepo. "Bepo, Perona seems to like you. Do you think you can get her to stop while the rest of us take care of… Jugo, right?" Karin nodded.

Bepo slowly nodded. "I'll do what I can, but-" he slumped over apologetically, "I'm sorry in advance if I can't get her to stop…"

Vivi began encouraging the bear while Karin helped Suigetsu to his feet. "Well?" he pressed, and Karin gave him a questioning look. "Why aren't you using your usual tone when you talk about Sasuke?"

Karin jabbed him in the forehead, almost offended by his question. "There's some things I need to think about is all," she huffed, before taking long strides towards where Jugo and Perona were facing off. Vivi, her pet duck, and Bepo quickly followed her.

Suigetsu sighed and lifted his arms in a shrug. With an audible groan, he began moving to catch up to the others with a light jog. For some reason, he had no idea why, they had a fight to stop.

* * *

><p><em>Okay, so as promised, I'm gonna explain exactly where the fluff I've been for like a month.<em>

_...sick is the easiest way to put it, I guess. And I know I use that as an excuse a lot, but that's because my immune system is terrible and so I get sick very, __**very **__often. It's pretty emotionally draining, and so some days I struggle to get anything done, and I am really bad at prioritizing things so I haven't actually worked on this for a while, and it took me smacking myself and just sitting down to __**write **__to actually get this out to you guys._

_Sorry for the delay, I'll try not to make it such a long wait next time._

_-Ink_


	31. Chapter 31

_**Ink's Notes: **_

_I managed to clear up most of my writer's block, hopefully. Now it's just a matter of not being sick. Well, easier said than done, but things do seem to be looking up, especially since I managed to get another chapter written! Time for Perona vs Jugo, but first..._

**_Krazyfanfiction1: _**_Thank you~! Hope this chapter is up to par~_

**_K.C.96:_**_ Being sick is a pain in the neck, seriously, some people don't understand the effect it can have on people... _

**_Allykrau: _**_I think I deal with enough shit nowadays to make up for a lack of shit when I was born *smack'd*_

**_peppymint: _**_Sometimes I just wanna punch that guy in the face._

**_The Keeper of Worlds:_**_ Thank you for the well wishes~_

**_Guest:_**_ Sakura vs Tashigi is the next chapter, so please look forward to it~_

**_Guest:_**_ (the other one) Thank you! I'm flattered~_

**_Fairy of the Friz:_**_ Thank you, and thank you~!_

**_Guest: _**_(the other other one) Thank you! They always seem to end up as being just over a thousand words, somehow. Maybe I should try making them longer in the future? Well, sometimes more or less events are covered... we'll see!_

**_nakamura1miu: _**_Thanks~!_

_Now, onwards, to the chapter!_

Chapter Thirty-One

Jugo watched as the strange ghosts moved around him in circles, chanting "_Negative, negative, negative," _over and over again to no one in particular. He began easing more of his body into his cursed seal state, before proceeding to swipe a claw at one of the ghosts that was circling him. His hand simply went through the ghost _(honestly, he wasn't sure what he'd been trying to accomplish), _and the ghost reacted by using his momentum to fly through his chest.

Jugo felt his anger slip away, being replaced by a depression he hadn't felt for at least three years. He fell to his knees, hands on the ground, to the point that he looked as if he were trying to imitate a table. "F… forgive me," he spoke softly as memories of that day so long ago resurfaced, prompting the pink-haired woman that was floating in the air above him to lean in and try and hear what he was saying. "I was… unable to save you, Kimimaro."

_"Negative, negative, negative," _the ghosts continued to chant, even as the woman moved them back around her body and floated downwards, a smile on her face. She hummed with something akin to amusement as she leaned in towards him, though he was hardly aware of it due to the state of pure depression he was in.

"Kimimaro, huh?" she slyly asked, and he forced his gaze upwards to meet her own. "And you… failed to save him, you say." The woman began circling around Jugo as he felt the depression make way for anger. "I wonder… who's the replacement goldfish? _Horohorohorohoro~_"

As she laughed, Jugo saw red and lunged at her, swiping at the levitating woman with his claws. The woman seemed mildly surprised as she floated backwards, narrowly avoiding the attack of desperation. As she moved backwards away from him, she batted her hand towards him. As she did, a white orb flew out of it, forming into some sort of miniature version of her ghosts that gently fluttered forwards and hugged his chest, smiling up at him with a silly, cartoony face. Jugo paused, feeling himself slowly calm down at the sight of something so small and cute.

And then the ghost exploded.

His transformed skin protected him from being damaged, but he was still knocked backwards onto his butt and caught in a daze from the sudden burst. Vaguely, he heard the woman laughing again, but his ears were still ringing from the volume of the explosion. He felt something land on his shoulder, and quickly noticed that it was another of the miniature ghosts, which was followed by another on his head, a third on his arm, a fourth on his knee and a fifth on his chest. It was only a quick and precise shift to transform those parts of his body that saved him from being more permanently damaged by the explosions, and he forced himself to his feet before the woman could launch more of those things towards him.

An ear-splitting scream split through the battlefield, and both he and the woman turned to where Suigestu was fighting that bear. Suigetsu was holding his hands out in front of himself with what looked like broken fingers, but he didn't have a chance to take in more details as he heard the woman speaking again.

"Just give up," the woman taunted, smiling sweetly at him as he snapped his head towards her with a glare. "You couldn't save your precious Kimimaro, and you have no hope of defeating me."

Jugo lost all of his common sense from the words and charged with a yell, changing his arm to something akin to a cannon to boost its speed as it flew at her with a punch. He slowly felt his rage being replaced by a sweeping depression, and glanced behind him just in time to see two of the larger ghosts flying out of his back. He fell to the ground on his hands and his knees, muttering in depression. "I'm so useless for not being able to control my anger…" His state of self-pity was so great that he nearly didn't hear the cries of _Jugo!,_ or the cry of _Perona!_ which followed shortly afterwards. Before long, he found himself being helped to his feet by the combined efforts of Suigetsu and Karin, as well as that blue haired woman and her duck who Karin had been fighting earlier. Once he was back on his feet and shaking off the depression, he saw that the polar bear was frantically trying to talk the woman who he guessed was called Perona down. He appeared to be bargaining with her, and the woman seemed to be thinking about it for a moment before outstretching her arms with a cheer and wrapping them around the bear. He began flailing about, only sparing a moment to give a curt nod to the four helping Jugo stand up before trying to get the woman to let go of him.

"Are you all right?" the blue haired woman asked, and Jugo felt himself calming down slightly as he looked at her.

"I… yes, I'm fine, miss…" he paused when he realized he didn't know her name.

"Vivi," she provided. "We're trying to get everyone to stop fighting. This whole conflict is pointless."

Jugo slowly nodded in agreement. "I would rather not fight, but I have to protect-"

"Oh, please," Karin cut in, and he looked over at her in confusion. "Do you really think that guy needs our help at all?" The fact that Suigetsu was also looking at her like she was crazy was only a little bit comforting. "Maybe he needs help dealing with that… bird guy…"

"Marco," Vivi put in, and Karin nodded.

"Right, Marco. But I…" she fell silent and clutched her arms as tears began forming in her eyes. "I'm… not sure that he even needs us for anything else," she barely whispered.

Jugo and Suigetsu both promptly swallowed their words and exchanged glances, before cautiously moving over and embracing Karin in a hug. She nodded with a slight hiccup, returning the favor. Vivi let them remain like this for about half a minute, before clearing her throat and motioning to Tashigi and the other pink haired woman. They were still fiercely locked in combat, and Karin laughed nervously while Suigetsu sighed.

"Right, we still have those guys to stop," he groaned, and Jugo looked over in confusion. "Apparently, we don't really need to be fighting, so we're getting all the help we can get to stop Sasuke and Marco from killing each other."

"More like Marco from killing Sasuke," the bear muttered as he and Perona rejoined the group. At Suigetsu's questioning gaze, Vivi and Perona simply nodded to convey just how terrifying an angry Marco could be.

Karin motioned for the group to move, and Suigetsu, Vivi, the bear, and the duck all began heading towards where the other fight was happening. Jugo was about to follow when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He paused and looked over at Perona, who was hovering so she was at about his height.

"Your rage isn't something to be depressed about," she encouraged, and he stared blankly at her. "Rage isn't far off from passion, which is useful when you're helping protect the people you care about." Jugo stared blankly at her as she laughed again. "_Horohorohorohoro~ _I learned _that _from a certain bull-headed swordsman." With those words, she floated off to go and join the group trying to split up Tashigi's battle.

He stared after her for what felt like an eternity but was likely only about half of a minute. "Passion to protect, huh…" he muttered, glancing down at his hands, before clenching them into fists and picking up his pace to a light run to help stop the battle.

* * *

><p><em>All right, that takes care of this chapter! Next up will be Sakura VS Tashigi, followed by Sasuke VS Marco and the <em>_**thrilling conclusion**__, probably, I think! See you guys then!_

_-Ink_


	32. Chapter 32

**_Ink's Notes:_**

_Aaaah, whoops. It's been a while, again... sorry for the delay. Let's get to responses, then the chapter..._

**_The Keeper Of Worlds: _**_Yup! Admittedly I really like those two._

**_Guest:_**_ Any particular reason?_

**_Other Other Guest:_**_ That's officially your nickname BD Anyway, I believe I mentioned it in a different chapter, but for the One Piece guys this story started right about when the Straw Hats were leaving for Fishman Island - so it's her post timeskip outfit._

**_Allykrau:_**_ Indeed~_

**_XPao-17X:_**_ Well, we'll see how it goes now!_

**_Other Guest:_**_ Here is another chapter!_

**_Skipper917: _**_Thank you~_

**_j8a8c8y8: _**_Thank you~! And no, it's not Blackbeard. I don't think his fruit has a teleporty thing. And if it were Blackbeard, I think Marco would be... well, he might not be acting as rationally since his crew might not be as safe if it were the Blackbeard guys who had done it. Truthfully, it's an OC who... probably won't actually play a part in the story, just was more of a "ok these guys got sent to the Naruto world by this asshole" sorta deal._

_Anyway, on to the chapter!_

Chapter Thirty-Two

Much to her dismay, Sakura was discovering at an alarming rate that not only was Marco right about Haki being more effective in combat if you could use it with your eyes open, but that this Tashigi woman was also somewhat proficient in its use and was able to keep up with Sakura when she tried using it to outsmart her. The idea of using a kunai to even the playing field had quickly become a bad one, as Tashigi seemed to specialize in the use of swords and so someone like Sakura, who didn't have the honed skills of a swordsman, was having trouble keeping up while using a blade of her own.

Sakura jumped backwards to put some distance between them before throwing the kunai at Tashigi, who planted her feet firmly before vanishing in an instant with a cry of "Soru!" Sakura forced her Haki outwards, the blur of the auras melding with the sight of her environment, and just barely managed to pick up her opponent as she closed in with a thrust from behind. Sakura moved right, the thrust just nicking her stomach as opposed to piecing it like her opponent had intended, before channeling chakra into her leg and swinging it upwards in a roundhouse kick at Tashigi. The woman brought her blade up to block, then was momentarily paralyzed by the reverberating **_clang_** that came from the blade when Sakura kicked it as hard as she had. She took a few steps backwards, visibly reeling from the blow, and Sakura took the opportunity to swing a punch at her face. Tashigi snapped to attention, vanishing once more with another cry of "Soru!" before reappearing a few steps backwards and shaking herself out.

"What is your problem?!" Sakura yelled as she brought her hands together in a hand sign, making a few simple clones. Each one moved forwards differently, and Tashigi prepared to strike at them. "Why are you even working with Sasuke!? Do you _know _what he's done?!"

Tashigi moved quickly and eloquently, slicing through each of the clones and dispersing them without much effort, before she and Sakura charged forwards and met halfway, Sakura ducking under a sword swipe and bringing a fist up, Tashigi leaning backwards to avoid the uppercut and trying for a knee to the gut, Sakura reeling back from the blow but grabbing Tashigi's leg, Tashigi being swung at a nearby tree and slicing her sword through it as she got close, Sakura having to release her leg in favor of punching the tree away, both moving back to put some distance between themselves again.

"My only concern is getting back home so I can help bring pirates to justice!" Tashigi bit back, gripping her sword tightly.

"Then come with us instead!" Sakura countered. "We're on a mission to gather people from the Grand Line so we can help them get back home! You're no different, let us help!"

Tashigi seemed mildly surprised that Sakura knew where she was from, but shook the thought away as she moved forwards again. The two found themselves in what could be considered a dance, each dodging blows from the other, or barely avoiding something, or getting hit but retaliating quickly and effectively.

"I would never work with pirates!" Tashigi snapped at Sakura, swiping her blade downwards at her. "Pirates are the scum of the seas!"

"You might as well be if you're working with missing-nin!" Sakura retaliated, dodging to the left and thrusting her hand at Tashigi's elbow. Tashigi moved her arm out of the way of the blow. "Especially- Especially someone like Sasuke!"

Neither of them took much time to process the fact that they took a moment to duck under Suigetsu's blade as it flew overhead and embedded itself into a tree, nor did they take much time to focus on the scream that filled the air about a minute later. Sakura brought out a kunai to block the downward strike that Tashigi swung at her, and they found themselves deadlocked as neither gave an inch to the other's advances. It was a few moments before Tashigi broke the silence between them.

"What do you mean?" she asked in a low voice. "When you say that I might as well be working with pirates if I'm working with missing-nin?"

"A missing-nin," Sakura paused a moment to try and think of terms that Tashigi would understand. "It's like… a shinobi is a marine. We go around helping people and stopping bad guys, based on what our clients want us to do." Tashigi slowly nodded, though didn't let up trying to gain the advantage in their stalemate. "And a missing-nin is someone who used to be a shinobi, but betrayed their village to go rogue." When Tashigi blinked, she decided to use different terms. "Like if a marine decided being a marine wasn't for them and became a pirate."

Tashigi hesitated for just a moment, and Sakura capitalized on this hesitation to push her backwards with a firm kick to her stomach. "You-" Tashigi coughed. "Are you saying that-"

"Sasuke _betrayed _my village!" Sakura snapped at her. "He- we worked together for so many missions, but he- he just threw that away in the interest of gaining power alongside a known enemy of the village!" Tears were forming in Sakura's eyes. "At least- At least pirates like Marco can be good people! There are bad ones, I know that! We have some pirates here, even if it's not nearly as many as there'd be where you're from! But people like him just want to be free! They help the people they care about, they raise a flag so that if the marines – if the marines do something to hurt the people they care about, they can _do _something about it!" Sakura clenched her fists and her teeth. "You- you can't just pretend the marines are some sort of incredible force that's always right! No organization can be like that! Even if they have the best intentions, people – people are _people! _They can be bribed, or swayed by wrong opinions, or- or even the people they think are the right ones to fight or attack are just the enemies of the people that paid them!" Sakura clenched her fists, shaking her head a few times. The things she was saying… as much as she hated to admit it, she was noticing a lot of parallels to her own life as a shinobi.

"You're…" Tashigi slowly relaxed her posture. "You're saying that Sasuke is like… a former marine who became a pirate?" Sakura slowly nodded in response. "So I've been going against all forms of my justice… by helping him." The statement seemed to have shaken her, and she lowered her sword.

"Oh, thank goodness," Vivi's voice snapped Tashigi and Sakura to attention, and both turned to face her. "I thought we were going to have to separate you, but with how fiercely you two were fighting one another…" She sighed in relief and turned to Carue. "Thank goodness, they've sorted out their differences."

"Vivi?" Sakura asked. "What do you mean?" She slowly took in the fact that everyone except for Sasuke and Marco had stopped fighting. "What's going on?"

"There's… things we need to talk about," Karin frowned. "Right now, we need all the help we can get stopping that," she jabbed her thumb at the fight between Sasuke and Marco, just as Sasuke barely avoided a punch to the face but got hit by a talon to the chest. "I'd explain, but every moment spent doing that is a moment that fight goes on longer."

Sakura mutely nodded in agreement, wondering what exactly was going on, when Tashigi suddenly yelped and pointed at her. "You're- Princess Vivi Neferati!" she exclaimed. "You were with the Straw Hat Pirates in Alabasta!"

Vivi yelped out a squeak, covering her mouth and shaking her head. She was saved from having to speak when Perona interjected, "You know the Straw Hats?"

There was a moment when all the assembled people from the Grand Line exchanged glances, wondering why they all knew the Straw Hat Pirates, then they realized that this could honestly wait until a point in time when they didn't have something to be doing. "Right- stopping Marco-" Bepo reminded them all.

Tashigi sheathed her sword and turned to Sakura. "In the interest of protecting civilians such as the Princess and the non-shinobi in this world, and returning to the Grand Line… I suppose I'll have to travel with you," she stated. "But so much as one wrong move from you pirates-" she glared at Bepo, who quickly apologized, "And I'll have to take action."

"All the better way for you to keep an eye on us," Sakura grinned, before taking off with the others towards where Marco and Sasuke were fighting.

Tashigi sputtered a moment, processed what Sakura had just said and what it implied, then drew her sword and charged after the group. There were things that needed to be thought about, but for now, she had to stop this fight. It was her job – her duty – as a marine to protect people, and she couldn't just stand there while these people endangered themselves like they did. She was a marine! She had to keep people safe!

…but maybe, just maybe, she needed to rethink how she was doing that.

* * *

><p><em>Right, that brings this chapter to a close. I'll try and get the next one out more quickly, but I'm getting Alpha Sapphire tomorrow, so I make no promises.<em>

_-Ink_


	33. Chapter 33

_**Ink's Notes: **_

_Hi guys! Managed to get another chapter done. And not a moment too soon, since tomorrow's my birthday and I don't know what I'm getting, and if I get distracting things I might not be able to get chapters done because, well, distracted. Anyway, time to respond to reviews! I like doing it like this in case people have similar questions to ones that have been asked in reviews, so that the answers are in a visible place and they can get answers like that if they're too shy to ask questions otherwise. (I know I'm like that sometimes.) But if you don't want to read the responses, feel free to just scroll down to the chapter start._

**_Krazyfanfiction1: _**_That she has! I quite enjoy writing for her, too. And thank you~_

**_The Keeper of Worlds: _**_Yup. I try and keep everyone in character when I write, so it's always nice to hear things are progressing logically._

**_peppymint: _**_I quite like Tashigi, yeah. I wonder what's in store for her in the future._

**_CrystalHeart27:_**_ NO REGRETS, LIVE LIFE ON THE EDGE_

**_Allykrau:_**_ Yeah, I heard it was being released late in Europe for some reason... well, hopefully you have it now!_

**_Sakuracherryblossoms:_**_ Aaah, thank you so much~! I'm glad you like the story!_

**_The Fluffy:_**_ ...Either you know about things I've said I like on other websites or this is a weird coincidence, but I'm glad you like the story~! __(can I kidnap you because you are fluffy)_

_Anyway, shall we begin the long-awaited match?_

Chapter Thirty-Three

Sasuke was having a hard time comprehending exactly what was going on. His sword had just been broken and discarded, and he'd attempted to put some distance between himself and his opponent with a fire jutsu, only to discover that attacking a person who could turn into a phoenix at will with fire was a _terrible_ idea and had gotten a talon to the gut and a wing to the face for his trouble. Then he'd tried using his _Sharingan _to cast a genjutsu on the man, only to discover that it was difficult because his chakra was rather abnormal and by the time he felt like he was getting a grip on the man's senses, the man had realized what was going on and closed his eyes, then started attacking as if he weren't under a genjutsu at all. It was getting frustrating – each time he'd tried to press an advantage, the man would adjust his fighting style to compensate and get a few good blows in before Sasuke put a good amount of distance between them. If there was one thing he'd noticed, it was that the man didn't seem to have a way to fight at a distance, but his speed was good enough that he could close any distance between them without much issue, so it was something of a moot point.

Sasuke frowned and reached into his shuriken pouch in order to pull out some shuriken, charging them with electrical chakra and throwing them at the man. The man responded by shifting into his full phoenix form, allowing the weapons to pass harmlessly through them with nothing more than a slight jolt to his body. The holes created by the shuriken lit up with blue flames and simply closed themselves, and the phoenix flew towards him. Sasuke threw some shuriken with thin wire attached to try and wrap them around the bird, but the bird seemed to notice the wire somehow and flew upwards before dive-bombing him with his talons, gripping him by the shoulders and bringing him to the ground, where he kept him pinned by tightening his grip on his shoulders.

The flames dispersed off of the man's top half, leaving his bottom half a bird as he clenched his hand into a fist, the fist coating in black before he brought it down towards Sasuke's face. As it was about to connect, Sasuke performed a _Kawarimi _to replace himself with a nearby log, and was instantly grateful that he had done so when the man's fist broke _through_ the log, shattering it as it did so. However, instead of reacting with confusion, the man simply turned towards his hiding spot, changing to his full bird form and shooting forwards, forcing Sasuke to move back outwards into the clearing as he brought out a kunai to parry the phoenix's swipes. The phoenix moved backwards, realizing his current strategy wasn't working, which allowed Sasuke a moment to take a breather.

This… _bird-man_ was outclassing him, majorly. He'd managed to avoid a lot of painful blows, but every instinct he had was telling him that this was a losing battle, and so far those instincts were proving right. The man was faster, stronger, and Sasuke was willing to bet he had _way _more combat experience as well. The only advantage that Sasuke had was his jutsu – and he was going to need to press that advantage for everything that it was worth.

Sasuke brought his hands together and began flying through hand signs, his _Sharingan _helping him move through them more quickly than normal. The bird's eyes narrowed, only to widen as Sasuke sprinted forwards. He shot upwards as Sasuke released a burst of lightning chakra, the sound briefly deafening him to the world.

When the electricity faded but the bird didn't attack, Sasuke looked up to see what he was doing, only to find that his attention was elsewhere. Cautiously, he followed the bird's gaze, and found that all of his allies – aside from Tashigi – seemed to be having trouble facing their opponents, and Suigetsu's hands appeared to be broken despite the fact that he was made of water. He brought his focus back to the bird as he made a mental note to chastise his allies for their subpar performances, and noticed that the bird had gone back to being a man, aside from his arms and legs, which were still wings and talons. Somehow, the man was still remaining airborne despite the change in weight and the effort you would have to exert to remain that way.

Sasuke barely had a moment to process the lack of logic before the man dive-bombed him. He pushed himself backwards just as the man's talon-foot connected with the ground, leaving a small crater impact. With that, the man went on the offensive, constantly sending punches, kicks, even head butts in Sasuke's direction. Sasuke began trying to defend himself, lacking the proper time and focus to execute a jutsu, but when a well-placed kick to the forearm resulted in a faint _cracking _sound he winced and began trying to put some distance between the two of them. With that, he began preparing a _Chidori_, ignoring the pain that shot through his arm from the action, and lunged forwards at the man as quickly as he could.

The man, however, seemed to see his actions coming, and simply swayed to the side, grabbing his wrist as he moved past before spinning him around in circles and flinging him towards a tree, then dashing forwards to meet him and unleashing a barrage of punches and kicks while Sasuke was still in midair. Sasuke managed to pull another switch with a nearby log, but the man simply turned in midair, launching off of the very tree he'd thrown Sasuke towards, and swung a punch at his face, which Sasuke narrowly avoided. Unfortunately, the talon to the gut wasn't something he avoided, and he gripped his chest as he put distance between them again, idly noticing that he was bleeding in a few places and would likely need some treatment soon.

"Marco!" The cry cut through the battlefield, and the man's expression changed from one of rage to one of mild shock. Both he and his opponent, apparently called Marco, turned towards the source. His fellow members of Hebi were approaching, along with Sakura and her… odd new allies. Sasuke noted that several of his allies were injured, but for the most part Sakura and her allies were unharmed. Mentally, he scoffed at their performances, and was about to give them a stern talking to when he noticed Marco visibly relax.

"Sakura. You're okay," he smiled warmly at her, walking over and embracing her in a hug. Sasuke frowned when his teammates didn't make any motion to approach him, aside from a cautious glance from Karin and a death glare from Tashigi.

"Yes, I'm fine, Marco," Sakura smiled in response, and Sasuke shuddered at the sight. It reminded him of the things he'd left behind in Konoha. Even his allies were smiling at their opponents, as if they had been friends for years. Jut the thought of it brought his anger to a boil. He brought his hands up and began preparing a fireball technique. If they were going to betray him, then he wouldn't hesitate to take them out like the obstacle they were.

"Ah- Perona!" the bear suddenly yelped, pointing at Sasuke as he finished his hand signs. The other pink-haired woman reacted quickly, sending a ghost-like creature towards Sasuke. But it was too late, Sasuke smirked as he prepared to send a fireball their way. Too late…

…too late to make amends, he realized as the chakra dispersed and he fell on his hands and knees in a state of depression. What happened when he killed his brother? Would he go back to Konoha? No, he was a missing-nin. They wouldn't accept him just because he took out another one. He committed a huge crime when he betrayed his village to go to Orochimaru; taking out another criminal wouldn't suddenly make everything right.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard laughter, and he forced his head up to see the two pink haired women laughing at his predicament. "I- I never thought I'd see Sasuke-" Sakura was gasping out, leaning into Marco for support, who seemed to be mildly amused himself. "This is- Perona, you're the best!"

"_Horohorohorohoro~! _Of course I am~" she hummed happily. "No one can stand up to my negative hollows." She paused momentarily. "Except… hmm. Well, almost no one. He doesn't count." Perona huffed at something she seemed to be remembering.

"Um… there there?" the polar bear offered, and Perona instantly latched onto him in a hug, prompting him to start flailing wildly.

"…These are the people we lost to?" Suigestu deadpanned, and Karin gently pat him on the shoulder a few times to comfort him.

The group was so lost in the humor of the moment that they didn't notice Marco's expression turn cold. Sasuke, however, in his completely unamused state at being made fun of and humiliated like this, did. He pushed himself to his feet and glared at Marco. "What's with you?" he asked, almost instantly snapping the group out of their amused mindset.

Marco was silent for a moment, before he sighed. "What a pain in the neck," he grumbled, rubbing behind his neck as if it were actually in pain. He then fixed his gaze on the area behind Sasuke. "Hey, I know you're there," he called out. "You planning on coming out anytime soon?"

Sasuke stared at Marco like he was crazy, but at the sound of movement he instantly turned on his heel to face the newcomer. From the underbrush emerged a strange creature in a cloak that instantly brought his rage to a boil – an Akatsuki cloak. Judging by Sakura's gasp, she recognized it as well, though he wasn't quite sure how she knew what it was. Instead, he focused his attention on the thing he was pretty certain was a man that stood in front of them. The man in question appeared to be surrounded by some sort of Venus flytrap, and his face and potentially body were evenly split between black and white.

"It seems that we've been found out," the man smiled, teeth sharp like fangs. He laughed quietly to himself before speaking again in a deeper voice. "**Is there something that you wanted from us?**"

* * *

><p><em>WHOOPS I ACCIDENTALLY A ZETSU<em>

_See you next time!_

_-Ink_


	34. Chapter 34

_**Ink's Notes: **_

_Okay so I actually had this done two days ago, but yesterday the internet was out for most of the day and I kinda forgot to put this up when it was. BUT NEVER FEAR FOR I AM NOW HERE WITH THE UPDOOT_

**_Krazyfanfiction1:_**_ It involves realizing "hey wait Perona was in Amegakure wasn't that where the Akatsuki were chilling out a while"_

**_peppymint:_**_ "I'm sorry that I was born."_

**_Tough chick:_**_ GO! LIKE 20 FIRE POKEMON AT ONCE!_

**_Fairy of the Friz: _**_ZETSU IS AFTER that fine booty ooohhh yeeeaaahhh_

**_Allykrau:_**_ Well, Christmas isn't too far off! ...wait __**fluff **__I needa finish my Christmas shopping_

**_Guest:_**_ You're welcome!_

**_Ddash2157:_**_ Hello! Nice to formally meet you! And thank you~!_

**_The Keeper of Worlds: _**_Who else would it be?_

**_hey: _**_Thank you~ _

_ON TO THE CHAPTER_

Chapter Thirty-Four

The tension in the clearing was so thick that it was almost hard to breathe with it draping over everyone assembled. Sakura gripped Marco's hand for comfort as she stared down another Akatsuki member – the second one she would have to fight, if things didn't go well. She felt his hand tighten around hers, and relaxed, if only slightly, keeping her attention on the enemy before them.

"…So what happened to you?" Perona's question seemed to break through the tension almost instantly. "Did you get eaten by a Venus flytrap, then make it choke on you midway through and just start living like that or what?"

The assembled members of Hebi _(aside from Tashigi) _all nearly fell over from the sheer bluntness, audacity, and absurdity of the question. Sasuke looked as if he were about to murder something, while the Akatsuki member before them actually looked somewhat amused by the comment.

"What if we were?" the plant-like man asked, a sly, amused grin on his face. "**What would you do?**"

Perona hummed thoughtfully as the assembled pirates stared at him in disbelief. "Probably set you on fire to try and free you," she determined. "Ah, you, emo duckhair," she turned to Sasuke, who glared at her with a look that screamed murder due to the embarrassing nickname, "You use fire techniques, right? You should free that man from his plant prison."

"…What," Sasuke deadpanned, his eye twitching. "Why would you even suggest that." It wasn't a question, and he didn't appear to know how else to react to Perona's casual suggestion-comment-thing, so he just turned to the stranger. "Who are you, anyway?"

"An excellent question, Sasuke," the man grinned a sharp-toothed grin. "**We are called Zetsu. As you can see,**" he motioned to his cloak, "We're a part of Akatsuki."

Vivi took a mental note of Tashigi's expression as the woman seemed to mentally review something in her head. When Marco spoke, though, she turned her attention to him. "Zetsu." The plant-like man in question grinned in response to his name. "Why have you been following us since we left Amegakure?"

The grin immediately left Zetsu's face, but he quickly forced it back on. "You can blame your floating pink haired friend," he smiled. "**Leader was curious about her, and wanted us to look into her presence.**" Bepo and Perona exchanged glances. "Of course, it was sheer good fortune that we ran into Sasuke here." Zetsu turned his grin towards Sasuke. "**Now we can take you to see your brother.**"

"Um, that… _might_ be difficult," Sakura spoke up, bringing the gazes of everyone assembled to her. "I don't think that the _other_ people who were following us will approve of that."

"The… other people?" Karin asked, and Sakura turned to Marco for confirmation.

"Yeah, ah… someone's been following us to make sure we don't screw anything up – like alliances between nations and stuff, I guess – since we left Konoha," Marco explained, scratching behind his head. "Considering we're standing in the vicinity of one of their missing-nin, I don't think they'll stay silent about that."

"You've been being followed…?" Sasuke asked, largely out of disbelief. "Rather, you _knew_, and you just **_let_** them follow you?"

"It wasn't a problem until now," Marco shrugged, apparently not caring about how completely casual he was being about the entire thing.

At that moment, two cloaked figures wearing odd masks landed in the clearing, both drawing kunai and holding them at the ready – one facing Zetsu, the other facing Sasuke. It didn't take Sakura long to place who they were.

"These people are from…" Sakura snapped her mouth shut as she realized she shouldn't necessarily _say_ that they were from Root out loud, but Marco seemed to get the message and smiled at her before stepping forwards.

"So, you've been following us to make sure we don't bring any animosity to Konoha, yeah?" he smiled at the two Root ninja, who barely spared him a glance as he approached. "We've found most of the guys who we were looking for, but not all of them, so we need to keep going."

One of the Root members faced Marco, keeping an eye on Sasuke as well. "You expect us to just let you leave after you've been willfully cooperating with missing-nin?" the ninja asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion behind the mask. Sakura saw Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo flinch and ready themselves for the worst.

"Well, yes," Marco shrugged, "Because you're going to be too busy fighting over the right to take a missing-nin captive with that Akatsuki member over there," he pointed to Zetsu, who pointed to himself in confusion, "To bother trying to keep up with us."

Karin was about to open her mouth to ask what he was talking about when Marco _moved_, slamming his knee into the back of Sasuke's head with such precision and force that the young Uchiha was knocked unconscious from the blow. The rest of Hebi was left sputtering uselessly as Marco lifted him by the back of the shirt. "Catch!" he grinned mischievously as he threw Sasuke into the air. The Root ninja and Zetsu followed the path of the unconscious Uchiha into the air, largely because of the shock factor of what had just happened, and while they were doing that, Marco moved back over to the group, picked up Tashigi and Karin under his arms, and made for the forest again. Sakura quickly got the message, grabbing Jugo's hand and pulling him after Marco, while Vivi climbed on Carue's back, Perona and Suigetsu climbed onto Bepo's, and the animals took off after the rest of their group.

"Did we seriously just do that!?" Sakura called to Marco as he led the group through the underbrush, ignoring Tashigi's indignant cries demanding that he put her down. "Is that seriously a thing that we just did!?"

"Yup!" Marco grinned as the rest of the group began catching up and keeping pace, "It's more fun this way. We're pirates, we don't cooperate with the law. Besides, who knows what kind of backup that Zetsu guy could have called for, yoi."

Sakura conceded that point, despite Tashigi's vehement protests that she was _not _a pirate. The group continued running for about half an hour, until Bepo's complaints that carrying a Logia was just plain weird got their attention, and the additional request of if they could maybe slow down to rest for a minute because their new friends were injured brought them all to a slow stop. _(Although, they only stopped because Marco confirmed that neither Zetsu nor the members of Root were following them at this point.) _Bepo, Carue and Marco let down their respective passengers, and Tashigi began admonishing Marco for his behavior before realizing exactly who she was talking to and quickly turning away with a huff.

Once everyone had caught their breath, Vivi spoke up. "Why don't we walk to the next town so we can find an inn?" she suggested. "I'm sure that we all have a lot that we need to talk and think about." The assembled group of shinobi and people from the Grand Line agreed, and thanks to the Haki of the assembled pirates, they managed to find a small town with an inn they could rest at just as the sun was going down.

It was only around this time, when the fight between Zetsu and the two Root members had finally finished and Zetsu had sent the Root ninjas packing, that Zetsu – now sitting on the ground next to a still unconscious Sasuke – had time to properly comprehend what exactly had happened.

"Well," he smiled, patting Sasuke's head, who merely groaned in his unconscious state in response. "**That was certainly an unexpected move.**" His face split into a grin as he slung Sasuke over his shoulder. "I think I'll tell Leader what happened here and see if he'll let me go after those guys." Zetsu hummed in amusement as he began walking towards their current hideout. "**I think things are going to get rather ****_interesting_**** from here on out.**"

* * *

><p><em>And that takes care of this chapter! Admittedly I wasn't planning on having the Akatsuki play a major role, but the more I thought about it, the more it makes sense. They wouldn't really want these guys running around posing at the very least a moderate threat to their plan... whichever plan that was... I swear there were like three different plans with those guys I mean seriously what the hell Akatsuki you'd think a group of nine people wouldn't have a third of them with hidden agendas ANYWAY<em>

_Despite that they'll probably be showing up later, we might not be seeing them for a while. We will, however, be meeting someone else next chapter. And there's the fact that Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo are now part of the party. I dunno, they're fun to write for, so sue me._

_(Don't actually sue me, please.)_

_See you next time! I'll try and update before (or on) Christmas for you guys._

_-Ink_


	35. Chapter 35

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_Hullo! I don't think I'll be around tomorrow or on Christmas Day, so I'm giving you guys this update as an early Christmas present!_

**_CrystalHeart27:_**_ I know, right?! I was cackling to myself while writing that bit._

**_Krazyfanfiction1:_**_ Well, we'll see, though he'd probably be of more help to Jugo than to Suigetsu._

**_rainwolf024:_**_ Papa Marco is best Marco._

**_Allykrau: _**_HERE IT IIISSSSS _

**_The Keeper of Worlds:_**_ He was dropped like he was hot._

_And now! CHAPTER! ...Sakura and Marco are only vaguely in this one WHOOPS_

Chapter Thirty-Five

Sakura was thankful that Vivi offered to pay for the rooms at the inn that night, because even when you paired them up, getting rooms for ten people was _expensive_. The group wound up with three rooms – Sakura and Perona in one room, Vivi, Tashigi and Karin in another room, and Suigetsu, Jugo and Marco in the last one. Bepo and Carue had opted to sleep outside, just in case one or both of the groups that had previously been following them figured out which way they'd gone and continued to do so.

The sun was long since gone and the moon was high in the sky when Jugo and Perona emerged from the inn, Perona sitting against the polar bear that was lying down as if he were some sort of pillow and Jugo stroking Carue's feathers. Bepo mumbled something about his Captain in his half-asleep state, before opening his eyes fully and turning to focus on Jugo. "What were you guys talking about in there?" he asked, and Jugo turned to him, stroking Carue's feathers idly.

"First, we were trying to figure out what we were going to do," he began. "We all left that place to help Sasuke find and kill his brother. With that purpose no longer valid… no longer necessary…" He stopped stroking Carue, who quacked and put a wing on his back. "Karin, Suigetsu and I… we weren't sure what we were going to do." Jugo resumed stroking Carue, who seemed content from the attention. "It was actually Vivi who suggested it, and Karin was surprisingly happy to agree to it. Suigetsu decided it might be interesting, but I'm still not really sure…"

"Sure about what?" Bepo prompted.

"Them traveling with us," Perona informed Bepo, to which the bear yelped. "Sakura's already been recruited as a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, whether she's accepted it or not. So Vivi thought it would be a good idea to ask Karin if she'd like to come back to Alabasta with her, which prompted Suigetsu to ask about where 'Alabasta' was, which meant we had to explain the Grand Line to these guys, and a world covered in mostly water got Suigetsu wanting to go as well, only maybe not sticking with Karin and Vivi…" Perona sighed and cuddled up against Bepo. "So they'll be accompanying us on our journey to find the other three victims of that Devil's Fruit user."

Bepo nodded in understanding, before turning to Jugo. "You're still on the fence about it, though?"

Jugo looked away. "That's right. I… don't know if I'd feel comfortable going to an entirely different world. And I don't know how useful I'd be to you guys. So I'm not sure if I'm going to come with you when you go back to your home."

"Oh…" Bepo pouted. "I'm sorry…"

"There's no need to apologize," Jugo shook his head. "It's not like it's your fault."

Bepo was about to apologize again, but quickly stopped himself from doing so. Carue sat down, prompting Jugo to do the same, and the group sat in relative silence. Jugo continued to stroke Carue, enjoying the bird's company, while Carue began to fall asleep from the stroking and Perona cuddled into Bepo, who slowly wrapped his arms around her to help keep her warm on account of her less than ideal attire for a cold night.

The four sat quietly together, with no sounds to accompany them aside from the sounds of the surrounding atmosphere and nature, for about half an hour. No one particularly felt like saying anything, so they just left it at that, simply enjoying the company. Jugo hummed softly to himself, a melody that he'd learned when he was a young child, giving the rest of the group something to listen to.

At that moment, the birds in the trees near the village scattered, and Jugo, Perona, Bepo and Carue all snapped to attention, getting to their feet and turning to the direction that the birds were flying away from. Perona glanced at Bepo, who nodded and began using his _Haki_, feeling outwards in that direction. He gasped, turning to them and pointing wildly. "There's someone being chased-!" he exclaimed, before dropping on all fours and charging towards the forest near the town. Perona and Jugo exchanged glances before following Bepo, and Carue quacked a few times and dashed after the three of them, flailing his wings about in a way that seemed to indicate that he thought this was a terrible idea.

It wasn't long before the four arrived on a beaten forest path, back-to-back and looking around. "Are you sure this is the area that you picked up on someone in?" Perona asked.

Bepo nodded in response. "I'm sure. I can still feel their presences in the area…"

"What are you talking about?" Jugo asked, prompting Bepo to apologize.

"I'm sorry. I forgot you didn't know about Haki," he whined, slouching over until Carue slapped him upside the head to get him to focus again. "I'll explain later, but it's basically like hearing voices, and they belong to people, and every voice has a different feel, and…" He slowly trailed off. "And this voice is…"

"This voice is… what?" Jugo frowned, but he didn't get a response on account of something darting out of the underbrush and between his legs, before hiding behind one of them. He spared a glance downwards to see a head of brown hair, but didn't get a chance to process much else as a small group of shinobi burst out of the underbrush, looking very frustrated and very exhausted. Jugo narrowed his eyes when he saw the insignia on their forehead protectors – ninja from the hidden Sound village.

"We finally… caught up to you…" one of them gasped out, and Bepo, Perona and Carue moved to adjust themselves so they were facing the Sound ninja. "There's… nowhere left to…" the ninja fell silent as he realized that he was staring at a polar bear, a floating woman, a huge duck, and a former test subject of Orochimaru's.

The reaction from one of the other Sound ninja was enough to convey the current emotion of all three of them. "What," the ninja deadpanned, looking between the assembled group, before noticing the figure that was hiding behind Jugo's legs. "So you intend to protect the kid?"

Jugo glanced downwards at the kid, whose grip tightened on his pant leg, likely out of fear. He looked back up at the ninja who were confronting them, before a voice caught his attention. "Please," he looked down at the source, the child clinging to his pant leg. "Don't let them get to me. Their voices…" Bepo and Perona exchanged glances at the kid's word choice. "They have scary voices, but you…" Jugo blinked in surprise. "You have a kind voice…"

Jugo stared silently down at her as words from earlier today echoed through his mind. _Passion to protect…_ He gently pat the kid on the head, and she slowly let go of his pants as he moved forwards, easing his arm into its cursed seal state. Perona and Bepo moved to help him, but he held up his other hand to halt their progress while shaking his head. "I'll take care of them." It wasn't a promise, or a declaration – it was simply the truth. Jugo would fight these guys, and he would make them pay for making a kid scared like that. The Sound ninja eyed him carefully, before one of them seemed to realize who he was and was about to say something when Jugo introduced his fist to their face. The Sound ninja flew a few feet back before connecting with a tree and falling unconscious from the force of the blow.

"N-Now-" One of the Sound ninja lifted their hands. "Let's not be hasty here-"

The other two Sound ninja soon found themselves in the exact same situation that the first had.

Jugo eased his body back to normal, walking back over to where the child was. The kid couldn't have been older than twelve, though it was hard to tell many details due to the heavy cloak the kid was wearing that covered the kid's entire body. Looking more closely, though, Jugo could tell that the kid was a girl – she had brown hair that was tied in two pigtails that fell on her shoulders, and had brown eyes to match. She looked up at him, meeting his gaze quietly. Jugo gently crouched down, offering his hand to her. "Don't worry. I've made sure they won't come after you again."

The girl nodded slowly, allowing her expression to slide into a smile. "Thank you," she responded. "You really do have a nice voice…"

Jugo felt himself smiling from her words, before he paused and realized something. "Why were they chasing you?" he asked, concern etched into his tone. The girl recoiled and looked away at the ground, before slowly reaching up and undoing the cloak that she wore around her neck.

When she took it off, letting it fall to the ground, he blinked in shock. The simple, sundress made of fur was one thing. The fact that she had small angel-like wings was another entirely. "They were saying… something about a bloodline limit," she explained, avoiding meeting Jugo's gaze. "That it was a new one, that I'd make a good research subject… so I ran. And they chased me, so I ran some more, and they wouldn't stop chasing me…" She held her arms, shuddering. "Their voices were so cruel, and cold, and so unfamiliar…"

Jugo frowned, before he gently picked her up. "Don't worry," he reassured her. "I'll keep you safe. No one will ever hurt you again."

The girl blinked in surprise, before nodding as Bepo picked up her cloak, putting it over her like a makeshift blanket. "I… thank you, mister," she forced a smile.

"Jugo," he introduced himself.

"Jugo…" the girl repeated, leaning into him as exhaustion caught up with her. "My name is Aisa," she muttered into his chest as she fell asleep in his arms.

Slowly and calmly, Jugo began carrying her towards the town where they were spending the night, followed by Bepo, Perona and Carue, who had taken the liberty of tying the Sound ninja to a tree. Perona floated forwards until she was right next to Jugo, smiling at him. "So, it seems that you've found a reason to stick with us," she hummed in amusement, prompting him to look at her like she had grown a second head. At his confused expression, she laughed. "_Horohorohorohoro~_ The girl in your arms? She's from the Grand Line as well."

"Wh-" Jugo stared at her, bewildered. "How do you- she is?" He seemed torn between shock from the sudden knowledge and… relief?

"Yeah-" Bepo had apparently just caught up and decided to join the conversation. "She mentioned 'voices', which is a term a lot of people use for Observation Haki- and people from the Grand Line have a slightly different feel than the ones from here when you're using it. Like- it's hard to tell unless you're _really _good at using it, or you know what you're looking for, but it's there." He nodded, proud of himself for being able to tell what that difference was. "When she mentioned 'voices', I checked, and sure enough, she feels like a Grand Liner."

"She's…" Jugo looked down at Aisa, who was leaning into him for warmth in her sleep. "From the Grand Line." Slowly but surely, a smile crept onto his face, prompting Perona and Bepo to blink in confusion. "That's good. I… can stay with my friends, and… I can protect her."

The group arrived back in town and began making their way back to the inn. Perona stretched widely, letting out a yawn as she did so. "Let's all get some rest, okay? We can talk to our newest party member and introduce her to the others in the morning."

Jugo nodded in agreement as Bepo and Carue yawned, making their way back to their guard posts, and Perona began making her way towards the door. "…Perona?"

"Yes?" the ghostly woman turned to him as she responded.

"…Thank you." Jugo gently bowed, though not much so as not to disturb the girl sleeping in his arms.

Perona smiled, humming happily. "Of course. I have a soft spot for cute things, after all." She let out an ethereal laugh as she floated into the inn.

Jugo stood like a statue, staring at her retreating figure with a befuddled look on his face. Aisa breathing on his chest brought him to his senses, and he quickly moved inside to go to the room he was sharing with Suigetsu and Marco so that he could be well rested in the morning.

Or, rather, so he could protect the ones who were becoming the 'precious people' in his life to the best of his ability.

* * *

><p><em>i don't ship it i don't ship it i don't ship it I SHIP IT OH GOD WHY DO I SHIP IT<em>

_MERRY CHRISTMAS HAVE THE INTRODUCTION OF AISA AND THE BIRTH OF THE JUGO/PERONA SHIP_

_-Ink_


	36. Chapter 36

_**Ink's Notes: **_

_hello fanfic my old friend, i've come to update you again, because a story that's been sitting, without any updates that it's seeing, and a chapter that was formed up in my brain, typed up plain, all to the sound of updates_

**_Krazyfanfiction1:_**_ THIS SHIP WILL SET SAIL IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO! but first other stuff_

**_Allykrau:_**_ Neither did I. Until this fanfic. And then it exploded._

**_Fairy of the Friz:_**_ MERRY SUPER LATE CHRISTMAS TO YOU TOO_

**_CrystalHeart27:_**_ Then my work is done :3_

**_The Keeper of Worlds:_**_ YUP YUP_

**_Guest: _**_I SHALL CONTINUE _

Chapter Thirty-Six

Sakura woke up in the morning feeling well rested and content, glad that she had the opportunity take a shower at her leisure to get ready for the day. She glanced over at where Perona was sleeping, clutching a pillow tightly to her chest and muttering something about 'Bearsy' in her sleep, then smiled gently as she headed into the bathroom to clean herself off.

She emerged from the bathroom about twenty minutes later to find Perona awake and Marco seated on the table in his smaller phoenix form, chatting to one another about … well, they'd stopped talking when she emerged, so she wasn't quite sure what it was about. They both looked up at Sakura the sound of the door opening and closing, and Marco looked away and covered his eyes with his wing almost instantly upon noticing that Sakura was covering herself with a towel. She and Perona laughed about his reaction for a moment before Sakura got herself dressed. Once she was done, she cleared her throat, and Marco peeked over his wing to make sure she was decent before lowering it fully.

"Jugo, Perona, Bepo and Carue found another one last night, yoi," Marco spoke up, and Sakura blinked in shock. She opened her mouth to say something, but Marco cut her off. "She's asleep with Jugo right now, but we're keeping the amount of people in that room to a minimum so she doesn't freak out when she wakes up."

Sakura was about to compliment him on the foresight involved in that idea, when a shriek pierced the air. It sounded like it belonged to a little girl, and her face paled at the thought.

"Marco," Sakura carefully began as the bird in question cradled his head in his wings, "_Who_ did you leave in the room with her?"

"In retrospect," his voice was muffled through his wings, "Maybe leaving her alone with Jugo and Suigetsu was a bad idea, yoi."

"You did _what." _Perona's response was less of a question and more of a statement. She sighed and headed towards the door, Sakura following with Marco hitching a ride on her shoulder. The trio arrived in the room to find that the rest of their traveling party had _also_ heard the scream and come to investigate it, that they had arrived before the three of them, and each and every one of them had somehow found themselves doing something completely different. Tashigi was threatening Suigetsu, her blade out and ready, and Tashigi looked about ready to point it at his throat, while Bepo was trying to diffuse that argument before it began. Vivi was already at Jugo's side, trying to calm down the little girl _(who had __**wings **__for some reason)_ who Sakura guessed was the person from the Grand Line that had been found last night, while Jugo held her to his chest in a manner that suggested he was protecting her. Carue was running back and forth around the room, flailing his wings and quacking in a complete panic, occasionally passing Karin, who was standing in a corner, cradling her head in her hands. Sakura, Perona and Marco stared blankly for a moment, before Marco cleared his throat a few times to try and get the attention of everybody in the room.

When that failed, he turned to Perona with an annoyed look, who quickly got the message and hit the more noisy ones with a few negative hollows.

"Now that everyone's calm," Perona placed her hands on her hips in a condescending manner once everyone had recovered, "Would someone please explain what happened here?"

Suigetsu, Jugo and the little girl all started talking at once, pointing at each other as if the other had started it, and it took Perona summoning a few more negative hollows to get them to stop talking over one another. She turned to Jugo, and he slowly nodded, then glanced at Suigetsu before he began to speak.

"After we got back last night, I brought Aisa into the room since she fell asleep in my arms," he began. Sakura mentally catalogued that the girl's name was Aisa as he continued. "This morning when I woke up, I found that Marco was already awake and had just finished getting himself ready for the day."

Sakura looked at Marco, who shrugged. "I'm used to waking up early, yoi," he explained. "Morning shifts on the Moby Dick and all. My Devil Fruit makes me very effective at morning watch, since I can get a better view of any ships that might be coming to try and catch us off guard before we've fully woken up."

Aisa was now staring intently at Marco, as if there were something odd about him, _(although, Sakura figured it was the 'talking bird' aspect,)_ and Jugo coughed once to bring focus back to him. "Moving on, I explained to him what happened last night, and he decided to go and tell you that we'd found another person from the Grand Line. He left to go to your room, and not long after, Suigetsu woke up."

Suigetsu crossed his arms with a huff. "I was curious about the kid, so I asked Jugo about it, but he said he'd rather wait until everyone was gathered in one place before he explained so he wouldn't have to do it multiple times. Of course, this meant I got bored, and the kid was still asleep, so I decided to wake her up and see what I could figure out about her."

"He pulled her wings," Jugo deadpanned.

"It was a dumb move," Suigetsu admitted. "And I guess that hurt, or she thought I was scary, or _something_ along those lines, because once she was fully awake she started screaming. Then everyone comes running, and next thing I know I'm at the end of Tashigi's sword and everyone's yelling and talking at once and I don't know what's happening anymore."

"AAAHHHH-!" Aisa suddenly yelled, pointing at Marco.

"Like that," Suigetsu frowned. "What's with you?"

"You- your voice!" Aisa waved her arm up and down as she pointed. "I've heard it before!"

"You- what?" Marco blinked a few times. "Wait, you can use Haki?"

"It's my Mantra," Aisa pouted.

"Same thing, yoi," Marco frowned. "So you're from Skypeia. That explains the wings, I guess." Sakura mentally catalogued the new information.

She nodded before she continued. "About a week or two after I arrived, I think it was… which was about a month ago… when I was on the run from those scary ninjas…" Jugo gave everyone a look that said he'd explain later. "I heard a voice that sounded like the ones I was used to, the ones from back home…" she brought her knees to her chest. "I wanted to try and follow it, but the sound guys were in the way, and I didn't want to chance it… but knowing that there was someone else from our world let me hold onto the hope that someone would find me and be able to help me get back home…"

"A… month ago…" Sakura slowly spoke, before hitting her palm with her fist. "Ah! That was around when we were doing that mission when we met Tama!" she realized. "Come to think of it, this area's kind of close to that village…"

Marco flew off of Sakura's shoulder and landed in front of Aisa. "I'm sorry. If I'd have known at the time that other people from our world were here, I'd have been constantly checking the area with Haki and I would have noticed that you were there, and in trouble…"

Aisa gently pet Marco's head. "It's… okay. It was scary, but you're here now, and I got to meet Jugo and the others…"

"And we're helping you all find a way home," Sakura put in. "If we'd have found you back then, we wouldn't have known you guys were from another world." She paused and frowned. "Come to think of it, I think I'm the only one from Konoha who knows that."

"Still hoping that doesn't interfere with our ability to get home, yoi," Marco sighed, slouching over in apparent depression.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Marco-San," Vivi quickly assured him. "These jutsu are capable of all sorts of things. I'm sure sending us home won't be too much of a problem."

"I hope you're right," Bepo nodded.

Aisa looked up at Jugo, eyes wide with sadness. "Does… that mean we won't see each other once I go home?" she sniffed, tears welling up in her eyes. Jugo shook his head, and she blinked in confusion.

"We got the idea from Marco, admittedly," Karin smirked. "He's insisting that Sakura joins the Whitebeard Pirates." Tashigi looked like she was about to speak, but Karin lifted a hand to cut her off. "I'm probably going to wind up going to Alabasta with Vivi. Suigetsu… mm, not sure yet, but we'll probably figure it out later. And Jugo…" She smiled. "Considering how protective he's become of you, he's probably going to wind up going with you to that Skypeia place."

Aisa's tear-filled expression slowly shifted to one full of hope, and Jugo smiled at her with a nod. She wrapped her arms around him in a hug, and he gently reciprocated the gesture.

"Well!" Perona quickly cut in, bringing the group's gaze to her. "How about we go get breakfast and fill everyone in about how we met Aisa?"

* * *

><p><em>Now that Aisa's been formally introduced to the group, and everyone's been caught up on the situation, we can move on! Next chapter, I think some old faces are going to reappear, so we'll see how that goes, hmm~?<em>

_-Ink_


	37. Chapter 37

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_[sarcasm] Having a cold has done __**wonders **__for my productivity, [/sarcasm] so I managed to get this done. Let's see..._

**_Krazyfanfiction1: _**_I'd have to check what Jugo's preference for elemental manipulation is... but maybe?_

**_XxFire-PhoenixxX:_**_ Aisa is the little girl who the Straw Hats met while they were on Skypeia. She had a natural talent for Haki, or as the Skypeians called it, Mantra._

**_Allykrau:_**_ Two more. And thanks~_

**_Guest:_**_ We'll see! And... mm, Vivi's kinda hard to get a grip on, but I'll see what I can do._

**_The Keeper of Worlds: _**_Jugo is the best big bro._

**_RedGoddessEclipse:_**_ Thank youuu~!_

**_Ddash2157:_**_ Hmm, Conquerer's, huh? Mm, I'm honestly not sure if any of them would have it. Maybe? Although, even if they do have it, I don't think any of the Grand Line guys assembled do, so learning it would be hard..._

_Anyway. Chapter time!_

Chapter Thirty-Seven

About a week had passed since the group had added Aisa to their party. The team had made quite a bit of progress, sneaking through the Land of Sound and Otogakure, stopping a night in Yugakure, and passing through Shimogakure before beginning the trek across the Land of Lightning towards Kumogakure. With just about the entire group learning Haki, and several experts in Observation Haki amongst them, they were able to progress at a reasonable speed without fearing that they'd accidentally passed someone from the Grand Line without realizing it. They had decided to abandon the idea of traveling quickly, in part because they were running out of ways to group everyone in order to do so, and in part because they were simply enjoying each other's company.

_On the road again_, Sakura mused to herself. It was certainly a change of pace from how things normally were. There'd usually be a mission, which could take anywhere between a few hours and a few days, then a week or so of lull before the next one happened. Traveling with Marco and the others, however, was a far different experience. They were constantly moving about, only stopping to rest or when something came up, without much time to even consider a lull in activity. Not that Sakura particularly minded – it was nice traveling with them, and there was never a dull moment in the group.

She was walking at the front, with Marco in his phoenix form on her shoulder, so she glanced behind her to see how everyone else was holding up. Jugo seemed to be having a conversation with Carue _(Sakura had learned that he could apparently understand animals)_, and Aisa was riding piggyback on Jugo's shoulders. Vivi and Karin were chatting back and forth about what Alabasta was like, while Tashigi and Suigetsu were arguing about different kinds of swords and their effectiveness in certain situations. Bepo and Perona were talking amongst themselves, though they were periodically glancing at their surroundings, suggesting that they were keeping watch to make sure nobody was following them.

Aisa suddenly stiffened up on Jugo's shoulders, just as Marco called out to the group to get their attention. Everyone immediately caught onto his meaning, abandoning their conversations and coming to a stop in favor of turning their attention to the front, some even preparing their weapons. Sakura moved a hand to her kunai pouch as she began feeling outwards with Haki to get an idea of what or who was coming. She paused in consideration when she felt something that seemed familiar, but still remained wary. Marco seemed to have gotten the same idea, then looked at the group with an expression of dread before cradling his head in his wings.

"…Marco? What's wrong?" Sakura asked as the bird let out an audible groan.

"This… I can't see this ending any way except badly, yoi," he grumbled, though Sakura barely heard his words. Briefly, she wondered what he meant by that, until the rustling of bushes signaled the arrival of the people that they'd picked up on. Three figures jumped out and landed before them, and Sakura bristled visibly when she recognized all three of them.

"Ah…" she laughed nervously as she stared at the three shinobi before her. "Naruto, Sai, Kakashi," Sakura greeted, lifting a hand in an awkward wave. "What brings you out here…?" she questioned, though she had a feeling she knew **exactly** why they were in front of them now instead of back home.

Kakashi took a moment to look over the group that had substantially expanded since it had left Konoha. In addition to Marco, and the woman and her duck who Tsunade had said were Vivi and Carue respectively, they'd gained a polar bear, a pink-haired woman who looked as if she could be related to Sakura and Lee, a woman with dark blue hair and glasses, a woman with red hair and glasses _(who he got a vaguely Kushina-esque vibe off of), _a shark-like man who had what he recognized as Zabuza's sword, and a large man with orange hair who was giving a piggy-back ride to a little girl with _wings_.

"Odd traveling group you've got here, Sakura," he idly commented, though there was a slightly threatening tone beneath his words. "Some strange people, a few missing-nin, an animal..."

"AH-!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, pointing at Perona. "Sakura-Chan, you have a sister?!"

Sakura thought she heard Marco say something along the lines of _Oh my God,_ but the sound was muffled because of his wings so she couldn't be certain. Kakashi seemed to share his sentiments, since his expression – from what Sakura could see of it, anyway – was one of exasperation.

"It seems more likely that she's one of the people Sakura was given the mission to find," Sai put in. "Them resembling one another is likely nothing more than coincidence."

"Um, excuse me," Vivi cut in. Both groups turned their attention to her. "Not to be rude, but… why are you here?" she asked. "Tsunade-sama said that she would trust this mission to us."

"Maa, that's true," Kakashi noted, cleaning out one of his ears. "But we're actually here to confirm something."

"Confirm…?" Sakura cautiously asked, but she had a sinking feeling about where this was going.

"Two members of Root who had been following you reported back to Konoha," he began. "They said they encountered you guys cooperating with those missing-nin." His eye traced over Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo, and each of them prepared for a fight. "There were also some other details."

"Let me guess," Marco spoke up as he finally lifted his head out of his wings, looking very tired all of a sudden. "The _other_ two missing-nin that were there, yoi?"

"Well, yes," Sai smiled, and Marco frowned. Something about the way he was smiling made him uneasy. "The fact that your rag-tag bunch of misfits encountered not only Sasuke, but a member of Akatsuki, and not only did you cooperate with these missing-nin who you seem to have no intention of turning in, but you let Sasuke go and left him with a very dangerous member of Akatsuki." Naruto snapped to attention as Sai inclined his head to the side, the smile never leaving his face. "Weren't you one of the ones who desperately wanted to bring him back to Konoha?"

Sakura bit her lip and quickly tried to come up with a response, but fortunately she was saved from speaking when _Tashigi_, of all people, spoke up for her. "There was no reason to bring scum like that back to a peaceful town. We're under no illusion that he would be willing to go back peacefully, and even if we _were_ somehow able to force him to go back, he would just leave again the second he got the chance."

Naruto let out an audible growl as his features turned a little more feral. "Don't talk about Sasuke like that! You have no idea-"

"Naruto," Sakura interrupted, snapping him out of his rage as he turned to her in shock. "She- she was traveling with him for a while. She knows him, and his motivations. So do Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo." The three in question nodded, each with a varying degree of bitterness on their faces. "When we encountered him- purely by chance when we got a lead on Tashigi's location, might I add- he very clearly had no intention of… of things going back to the way they were. He insulted me and my friends, Naruto. He's…" Sakura's voice caught in her throat as she fought back tears. She knew it, but she didn't want to have to say it out loud. "He's not the same Sasuke that we knew." Naruto looked heartbroken, either from Sakura's words, the fact that it was her who was saying them, or some combination of both. "He insulted us, and…"

"And then there was fighting, yoi," Marco put in, stroking Sakura's hair to help comfort her. "Quite a bit of fighting. We paired off and each of us fought someone."

"I was up against Vivi and Carue," Karin joined the conversation. "And we… discussed some things. I realized that Sasuke – he was only using me, Suigetsu and Jugo. So we figured there wasn't much reason for us to fight…"

"They went around stopping the rest of us," Suigetsu explained, putting his hands behind his head. "Admittedly, I was doing a kind of terrible job at fending off the bear."

"I'm sorry," Bepo apologized, slumping over in an apparent state of depression. Naruto jumped at the fact that the bear was talking.

Perona laughed into her hand. "_Horohorohorohoro~! _Jugo and I squared off briefly, before we were stopped as well. Tashigi and Sakura managed to discuss their situations and realize they were on the same side before we had to step in."

Kakashi frowned and did the mental math, figuring out who had been fighting who. Unless they had picked up the little girl before the encounter, and there was something about her that they weren't telling them, that just left…

"Wait," Naruto frowned, seeming to come to a similar conclusion that Kakashi had. "Then who fought Sasuke?"

"That was…" The group simultaneously exchanged awkward glances. Kakashi bit his lip at this reaction, taking a moment to scan over the group and note who _wasn't_ present, despite what the report he'd received had said.

"The members of Root told us that Edward, of all people, was with you when they found you, and that he knocked Sasuke unconscious and left them to fight the member of Akatsuki for the right to take him captive," Kakashi frowned. "I'd think Edward would still be with you if that were the case, but they also said that Marco was suspiciously absent at the time." His eyes narrowed in on Marco. "Is there something you'd like to tell us?"

Marco shrugged, and Kakashi muttered something under his breath.

"Sakura…" his tone was filled with regret. "There's… something you should know."

"What's that?" Sakura asked, doing her best to remain stone-faced, although she had a distinct feeling she knew where this was going.

"Allow me," Sai cut in, that sly smile still on his face. Marco suddenly wasn't as worried about it anymore. "Sakura… based on our judgment and information, we have determined that your pet bird, Marco, and the sailor, Edward… are actually one and the same."

Dead silence filled the clearing as several of the people from the Grand Line facepalmed _(or facepawed, in Bepo's case). _Sakura stared blankly at Sai and Kakashi, while Naruto sputtered at the sudden revelation.

And then she and Marco burst out laughing.

"Oh my – it took you guys _that long?!" _Sakura laughed, clutching her stomach. "I've known since about five days after I met him!" She wiped a tear out of her eye as the smug expression on Sai's face was replaced by one that indicated he was completely dumbfounded. "And I was _suspicious_ a day or two after we met!"

Marco grinned at the expressions that Naruto, Sai and Kakashi were making. Naruto was gaping like a fish out of water, Sai looked embarrassed, and Kakashi just looked mildly annoyed. "I thought shinobi were supposed to be observant, yoi," Marco grinned. "I am probably the least bird-like bird to ever bird, and it took you that long? And here I thought I might have to go to bird school, which is for birds, to fully convince you that I was a bird."

"Bird school, which is for birds…?" Aisa asked, blinking a few times. Marco waved her off in a motion that said it wasn't important.

"I… had a feeling," Kakashi admitted. "That there was something _off_ about you since we met." He frowned. "The state that Tama was in after you'd dealt with him didn't exactly help. But to think… what kind of a jutsu were you hit by?"

"Jutsu?" Tashigi asked. "He ate-" her mouth was quickly covered by Vivi and Perona, and she struggled a moment before getting the hint.

"Ate…?" Kakashi prompted, and Tashigi cleared her throat.

"…a cursed fruit that was part of an experiment to see if jutsu could be transferred through foods," she quickly lied. Perona gave her a flat look, and Tashigi glared at her to indicate that she had no idea that the origin of his abilities was meant to be a secret.

"Cursed… um…" Sai frowned. "…right. I… huh." He didn't seem to know how to react. Here he'd been expecting to expose Marco as some sort of liar to get Sakura upset with him, perhaps turn him over to Konoha so they could learn more about how he was able to become a phoenix at will… but as it turns out, not only did she already know, but she was willingly keeping his secret for him.

"Is that all you came here for?" Vivi asked, bringing everyone back to the topic of focus. "We'd like to get back to finding the others. There's apparently still two more to find."

Kakashi sighed, and nodded. As much as he hated to admit it, they didn't really have any further reason to hang out around the group. "I suppose," he admitted. "But, if you tell us where you encountered Sasuke, I might be able to clue you in as to where one of those two is." Everyone's attention snapped to him, and he lifted his hands in mock surrender. "You guys first."

Marco sighed, then pointed somewhere behind them. "We ran into him about a week ago near the western border of the Land of Sound, yoi. But that was a week ago, and we left him with that Zetsu guy, so I have no idea if he's still there."

"…I suppose that's better than nothing," Kakashi sighed when he saw Naruto getting ready to take off in the direction that Marco had pointed. "As far as my end goes, there've been rumors that a few months ago, a strange guardian appeared on the coast of the Land of Water. There's a small port town in the Land of Lightning that's known for making ships- you can probably get one there and sail over to the Land of Water to check it out."

Sakura didn't miss the smile on Marco's face as she nodded. "Thanks, Kakashi-sensei." She bowed slightly, so as not to disturb the phoenix on her shoulder. "Good luck finding Sasuke, if you even still…" she shook her head. "Nevermind. Good luck."

Kakashi nodded, and he, Naruto and Sai took off into the trees, heading back the way that Sakura's group had come from. She turned to watch them go, then smiled at Marco, the smile still firmly on his face. Playfully, she poked him in the chest. "What's gotten you so happy?" she asked, though she had a feeling she already knew the answer.

"The sea," he smiled. "We get to sail on the open seas."

* * *

><p><em>I get the feeling at least one of the things here will be coming up again.<em>

_Until next time!_

_-Ink_


	38. Chapter 38

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_GUESS WHO ACCIDENTALLY MISSED THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THIS STORY? __**I DID!**__ So when I realized I was like "aw FLUFF" and worked on getting this out, and then this is only ten - *looks at clock* ... eleven days late! ...iamsosorry_

_**Krazyfanfiction1:**__ I have thought about this and it will probably happen at a later date._

_**Fairy of the Friz:**__ It has gotten much better, thank you~_

_**Allykrau:**__ oh god Garp would be the WORST let's just... let's not touch that with a ten foot pole okay_

_**The Keeper of Worlds: **__I hinted at it earlier, buuuuttt... well, we'll see~_

_**rainwolf024:**__ HERE IS CHAPTER_

_**Ddash2157:**__ Itachi is actually not dead yet in this story! And I have plans for him. Evil plans. __**AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-**_

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Marco had been on cloud nine since their rag-tag group of awkward misfits from this world and another world had discovered that they would be traveling on the sea, to the point that he had begun singing out loud. When he finished singing the song the first time, he encouraged the others to join in and sing it with them, giving them a crash course in a "_well-known pirate song from the olden days_, _yoi_" as he called it. This was how the group had arrived in the small port town in the Land of Lightning that they'd been directed to, arms wrapped around each other's shoulders and singing the merry tune of _Binks' Sake _as they walked. Even _Tashigi_ had joined in on the melody, surprising the assembled pirates, but she brushed it off by saying that it was a merry melody and she was looking forward to being on the open seas as well. Besides, she put in, the Marines' traditional song wasn't nearly as upbeat.

Once they were through the town gates, they decided to split up into two groups. The first group, consisting of Vivi, Carue, Karin, Tashigi, and Suigetsu, would head into town and gather any supplies they needed, as well as secure some lodgings for when the night rolled around so they could be well rested in the morning. The other group, consisting of Sakura, Marco _(who had shifted back into his smaller phoenix form upon arriving in town)_, Perona, Bepo, Jugo and Aisa, would be heading for the docks to see what ships were available and figure out which one they would be purchasing _(or stealing, but general consensus was to __**not **__mention that part around Tashigi) _in order to head to the Land of Water and find the potential Grand Liner who had wound up there.

Unfortunately, the group of two pink-haired women, a small blue phoenix, a large man with orange hair giving a piggyback ride to a little girl with wings, and a polar bear in a boiler suit walking on its hind legs was drawing a _little _bit of a crowd. Okay, maybe it wasn't so little. Or… little at all, really. It was more like half of the small town had gathered in one place because they couldn't believe what their friends or family or the people they passed were saying and they just _had _to see it for themselves. As she glanced around at the people staring at them, suddenly feeling about ten times more self conscious, Sakura could only think of just how glad she was that Perona was actually walking as opposed to floating like she usually did.

"…Jugo…" Aisa whimpered, pulling herself inwards and towards Jugo as much as she could. "I don't like these people, their voices are scaring me…"

Jugo reached up and stroked her hair, calming her down slightly. "Just focus on the voices that make you comfortable," he encouraged her, and she slowly nodded and closed her eyes to help her ignore the crowd.

The group walked in relative silence, aside from Marco's whistling of _Binks' Sake _from his perch on Sakura's shoulder. With such a large group of people, they didn't want to say anything that might cause problems for them, so they just kept quiet. Fortunately, aside from a few odd looks, they arrived at the docks without any problems.

When they arrived, a man who had slicked back blonde hair wearing a pair of orange goggles on top of his head, and had stubble forming into a mustache and beard greeted them. He wore a dark blue jacket with several cigars strapped to it that was unbuttoned and over a yellow shirt with cloud patterns on it, as well as blue jeans and simple shoes. The man had a cigar in his mouth, but it wasn't lit at the moment, and he looked the group up and down. "Hey. Welcome to the docks. You guys travelers?"

"Ah, something like that," Perona answered, twirling her umbrella and smiling at the man. Aisa's eyes snapped open and she began staring intently at him, which he acknowledged by looking at her but didn't say anything about it. "We're looking for a ship so we can go to the Land of Water."

"All right," he nodded, removing the cigar from his mouth and doing a mental headcount. "Just the…" The man paused, looking Bepo up and down. "You a pet or one of those summons?"

"Ah- I'm a summon," Bepo quickly lied, his eyes moving to the ground.

The man raised an eyebrow, but didn't question it, instead returning to his previous train of thought. "Right. So, there's four of you, plus one kid and one…" He squinted at Marco, who trilled in response. "…One bird," he finished, though his expression and tone seemed thoughtful.

"Actually, there's four more of us and one more bird, though that one is larger," Sakura informed the man, who turned his attention to her and gave her a once over. He sighed in relief about something, and she blinked. "…Were you worried we wouldn't be able to handle it?"

"No, no-" He waved his hand to dismiss her concerns as he put the cigar back in his mouth. "Something else is all." Sakura stared at him, glancing at Marco, who trilled again in response to her look. "So a crew of about eight. I've seen ships run by that amount of people, shouldn't be a problem. Right this way."

The man motioned for the group to follow him, and he began showing them various ships, periodically greeting other people around the docks. It was through these interactions that the group learned that the man showing them around was a shipwright who had arrived in town a few months ago and quickly improved the quality of the ships in the area. They didn't get a name yet, though, which was growing to be increasingly inconvenient when it came to addressing him.

_(He apparently also didn't take kindly to women wearing revealing clothing, but his expression and the flustered blush betrayed his words. Sakura figured that this was what he was sighing in relief about earlier when he'd addressed her.)_

The fact that he'd arrived a few months ago was suspicious enough in itself, but Aisa hadn't stopped staring at him, and it had gotten to the point that they were getting worried about they young girl. Jugo was the one who wound up asking if she was okay, and she nodded to signify that she was before she leaned down and whispered something in his ear. Jugo nodded up at her, and he looked at the group, then inclined his head towards their impromptu guide.

Marco got the message quickly enough, fluttering off of Sakura's shoulder and flying towards the man with a quick trill. The man turned to face the bird as he approached, only for Marco to snatch the cigar right out of his mouth, flying in front of him momentarily to taunt him with the smuggest look Sakura had seen on Marco when he was in his bird form before flying off towards the town proper.

"Wh- Hey! That's mine! Give it - Get back here!" the man yelled, halfway flabbergasted that a bird had stolen his cigar and the rest of the way pissed off that _a bird had stolen his cigar._ He went charging off after the bird, who was flying at a leisurely pace to make sure that no one fell behind. Once the man was running and focused on Marco, the rest of the group tailed him, using Haki to make sure they didn't lose either of them in the crowd.

Sakura blinked a few times as she focused her Haki in on the man, turning her head to look at Perona as they ran. "Hey… is it just me, or-"

"Not just you," Perona curtly informed her. "_Hate running," _she muttered, before continuing her train of thought. "Aisa must have noticed as well, but yeah. His 'voice' is…"

The group arrived in an alleyway where Marco had landed and given the man back his cigar, and the man was grumbling at the bird, though surprisingly didn't seem any worse for the wear after the impromptu chase through town. He realized that the others had followed him into the alleyway, and the man ran a hand through his hair. "Jeez… sorry about that, but you shouldn't let your bird steal other people's things."

"Well, how else were we going to get a chance to talk to you alone?" Sakura asked. "Besides, he's a pirate. Stealing things is commonplace for him."

The man didn't react to the statement at all, aside from simply turning to Marco. "So you are who I thought you were. And here I thought I was the only one who landed here. Picked a _hell_ of a way to get my attention…"

"Sorry about that, yoi," Marco apologized, lifting his wing in a manner that stated he wasn't sorry at all. "We needed confirmation, though, and I didn't think you would admit it around so many other people."

"You thought right." The man put his hands into his pockets. "So, how many others?"

"Nine total," Perona informed him. "Marco's one, of course. Vivi, Carue, and Tashigi makes it four. Bepo, Aisa and I make seven. You're number eight," she smiled, twirling her parasol.

"And we think that the ninth one is in the Land of Water," Jugo informed the man. "Hence why we're trying to head that way."

"There's also four shinobi who're going to be coming back with us," Bepo smiled widely and outstretched his arms. "Sakura and Jugo here, and Karin and Suigetsu with the others."

The man stared at them in disbelief. "…I'm sure you'll fill me in on that later," was all he eventually provided, letting out a long sigh.

"So you're agreeing to come with?" Aisa asked cautiously, apparently a bit more relaxed now that they were alone, and the man nodded.

"Yeah. You're gonna need a shipwright to help you along and keep whatever ship we wind up using in top shape, and I _would _like to get back home as well." He offered a hand towards the small group blocking the entrance to the alleyway, and Sakura opted to shake it. "Name's Paulie. Nice to meet you."

* * *

><p><em>*insert Legend of Zelda 'ITEM GET' music* YOU FOUND ONE (1) "PAULIE"! Specializing in rope combat, this man is a Shipwright from Water 7 who will help keep your ship in top shape as you sail towards the LAND OF WATER.<em>

_...yeah i don't even know HAPPY LATE ANNIVERSARY!_

_-Ink_


	39. Chapter 39

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_GUESS WHAT TIME IT IS_

**_Krazyfanfiction1:_**_ Who knows? I doubt it but WHO KNOWS_

**_Fairy of the Friz:_**_ Ahahahaha, thank you~_

**_Wicken25:_**_ Paulie is amazing and I don't care what anyone else says_

**_Allykrau:_**_ I haven't been playing it what are you talking about STOP ACCUSING ME_

**_Ddash:_**_ KEH KEH KEH_

**_peppymint:_**_ ssshhh, no one has to know_

**_The Keeper of Worlds:_**_ ROPE-FU_

_AND NOW, LET US BEGIN_

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Vivi had just secured their lodgings for the evening when Karin had entered the lobby with what she'd initially thought was Marco in his phoenix form sitting on her shoulder. Before she could greet the bird, Karin lifted a hand to forestall her, then said that it wasn't him and handed her a note. Vivi blinked, skimmed the note, and gathered the others before reading it out loud when she was sure no one was paying attention to their group.

_"Hi guys," _she began, making sure she had their attention, _"I'm sending this note with one of Marco's phoenix clones, so it won't be able to talk or anything like that." _Vivi realized that this was why Karin had stopped her from greeting the bird, but didn't voice this realization out loud. _"As far as why I'm sending it, there's been an important development. While looking for a boat, we ran into a shipwright named Paulie who we've discovered is from the Grand Line – more specifically, from an island called Water 7."_

"Water 7?" Suigetsu perked up at the name.

"It's a city that's got water incorporated into its very being," Tashigi filled Suigetsu in, reciting the facts from memory. "Waterways serve as streets, and a lot of the tech there is powered by water, too. They're also famous on the Grand Line for their shipwrights."

"Water 7, huh…" Suigetsu adopted a contemplative look, and Vivi had a pretty good idea of what he was thinking. She cleared her throat to draw everyone's attention back to herself before she continued reading.

_"As such, he will be traveling with us, as well as providing us with a ship that we can use to get to the Land of Water, and then back to Konoha once we've found the last person from the Grand Line. He needs the day to make sure the ship's all ready and load his things onto it, so our plans will stay the same – we'll leave first thing in the morning to head to the Land of Water. Marco's phoenix clone can show you the way to the docks and the ship that we'll be using, so if you want to leave your things there in advance, feel free to do so. Marco—who will be in his human form—and I are helping Paulie with the ship; Bepo is playing with Aisa on the docks; and Perona and Jugo are out for a walk to take in the sights and perhaps get a souvenir or two. We'll see you guys soon! –Sakura."_

Vivi checked the letter for anything else, but couldn't find anything of note, so she folded and pocketed it before looking to the others who were assembled. "Would anyone like to go to the docks to see the ship?" she asked.

Suigetsu's hand immediately shot up, and Tashigi slowly raised her hand as well. The two began glaring at one another, and Vivi spared a glance at Karin when she heard the woman emit a groan. Karin was cradling her head in her hands, and it took her a moment, but she slowly noticed Vivi staring at her and offered a weak smile. "He and I used to be like that," she explained, "Always arguing over every little thing…"

Vivi nodded, thinking back to some of the arguments that had happened between Zoro and Sanji when she was traveling with the Straw Hat Pirates. "I used to see arguments like that all the time when I was on the Going Merry," she told Karin, "So I'm pretty used to this sort of thing."

Karin could only sweatdrop at the implication, then turned to the clone of Marco that was still sitting on her shoulder. "Well, if they're the only ones who want to go see the ship, you'd better show them the way."

The bird saluted in response. "Yoi!"

* * *

><p><em>"This <em>is the ship we're going to be using!?" Suigetsu exclaimed, largely out of shock, as he and Tashigi stared up at the ship in front of them.

"Most Marine ships are bigger than this," Tashigi idly noted, "But it is a very impressive vessel…"

The ship itself was a sloop-style ship, sails furled up and tied, with a figurehead that resembled – as Suigetsu found amusing and Tashigi found insulting – Marco's phoenix form. The figurehead was painted with reds and oranges, and the ship itself was painted to match with darker reds and browns.

Marco's phoenix clone fluttered off of Tashigi's head – where it had perched while leading them – and soared up to the crow's nest, where Marco, in human form, was surveying the horizons. It landed on the crow's nest, and Marco pet its head before it vanished in a swirl of blue fire. He turned to the two arrivals below, waving down to them and whistling loudly.

At the sound, Sakura emerged from one of the rooms on the ship and moved to the ship's railing. "Suigetsu! Tashigi!" she greeted with a wave. "You wanna come on board?"

The two said sure, why not, and Suigetsu walked up the side of the ship as Tashigi simply jumped from the dock to the deck. Sakura smiled at them and offered a tour – Tashigi accepted, but Suigetsu declined, so the two girls began walking around the ship while a blond haired man walked over from somewhere at the back of the ship and looked Suigetsu up and down.

"…You're Suigetsu, then?" he asked, adjusting the cigar in his mouth.

"That's me. How d'you…"

"Sakura told me what everyone looks like so I'd know if I have to kick anyone off the ship or not," he explained, running his hand along his hair. "Name's Paulie, I'm a shipwright from Water 7."

Suigetsu lit up at the name. "Tashigi told me about that place. Is everything there really operated with water?"

Paulie nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

Suigetsu slapped the side of his head, and it burst apart into water before reforming after a few seconds. Paulie stared at him with a look that screamed disbelief, before he muttered something that sounded like _Freaking Logia types._

"How much do you think I'd be able to do in a place like that?" Suigetsu grinned a shark-like grin.

Paulie's mouth tilted upwards into an amused smirk. "Depends. How good are you with ships?"

The two of them began chatting back and forth, and Marco smirked from the crow's nest, amused at how they were getting along. He picked up something with his haki, and looked up as Perona and Jugo returned to the ship, each of them carrying a bag. Perona floated up onto the deck, then set down her bag and summoned a few of her hollows, which floated down and grabbed Jugo by the shoulders, picking him up and lifting him onto the deck as well.

"That's a new trick," Marco called down, before hopping out of the crow's nest and landing on the deck near them.

"_Horohorohorohoro~!_" Perona laughed as the hollows dispersed. "I've been practicing it~ If I can get it to a point where it doesn't take a lot of focus, then I can render people immobile and hit them with whatever I'd like~"

Jugo nodded. "I'm happy to be of use, and Perona's promised to help me get stronger as well."

Marco nodded, then glanced at the bags that the two had. "So, what did you get, yoi?" He blinked in confusion when both snatched their bags and turned away simultaneously, before smiling in amusement. "Right, I won't ask then. Got everything you need?"

Jugo nodded. "Why?"

"Paulie says the ship will be ready and operational by tomorrow morning, yoi," Marco smiled. "We'll set sail for the Land of Water once everyone's awake and on board."

* * *

><p><em>And thus ends this chapter! The journey begins next chapter~ See you then!<em>

_-Ink_


	40. Chapter 40

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_...Sorry for the delay. I have no excuses. Let's just get right into things._

Chapter 40

Morning had come, the impromptu crew had gathered, and the ship had been dubbed _The Phoenix, _much to Marco's quiet embarrassment, Tashigi's obvious outrage, and everyone else's amusement. Paulie was saying goodbye to everyone who had helped him during the time that he'd been in town while Sakura, Jugo, Perona and Bepo loaded up the last of the supplies onto the ship. Vivi was studying the map that they'd be using to navigate to the Land of Water with Karin's help, and Aisa was taking a nap, using Carue as a pillow. Tashigi and Suigetsu were sitting on deck arguing about swords, and Marco had made himself comfortable in the crow's nest, much to the silent amusement of the crew below.

Once Paulie had finished with his goodbyes and everything had been loaded up, he and Marco gathered everyone on deck. After doing a quick headcount, Paulie clapped his hands together with a grin.

"So! Who here knows about sailing?"

When only about half of the crew - most of them people from the Grand Line - raised their hands, his grin became a bit sadistic.

"Oh, we are going to have _such _fun teaching you..."

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Phoenix's Voyage: Day One<em>**

Sakura and Marco were sharing watch duty up in the crow's nest as the ship sailed along, managing quite well for a rag-tag crew formed together over the course of a month or two. Sakura leaned on the rail of the crow's nest, while Marco was leaning against the mast behind her.

"Is sailing always this relaxing?" Sakura asked with a smile, the breeze flowing through her hair.

"I'd be lying if I said yes, yoi," Marco admitted. "The Grand Line's got all sorts of crazy weather patterns, the New World even more so. There's even an island where lightning rains from the sky."

Sakura blinked a few times and turned to look at Marco, her hair frizzling and standing on end just from the thought. "S… seriously?" she gasped out, one of her eyes twitching.

Marco smiled, then reached out and grabbed her sides, pulling her into his chest and wrapping his arms around her. Sakura gasped in shock, before allowing his gentle, relaxing warmth to spread through her body.

"Don't worry, Sakura. I'll make sure you're safe," he smiled down at her.

Sakura blinked a few times, then nodded and closed her eyes, relaxing into his warmth. She quite enjoyed the feeling, and she was glad she'd met Marco that day that seemed so long ago now.

Marco began humming _Binks' Sake_ under his breath, gently holding Sakura and looking out onto the horizon. Silently, he realized that this feeling must have been what Pops wanted, had been searching for, and had been gathering during his many years out at sea. The gentle, emotional warmth that came from having people who were close enough to you to call a family, no matter who they were or where they were from.

As he relaxed, he thought he felt something on the edge of his Haki, and tried to focus in on it. There was someone in the skies at least a hundred feet away, so it was fuzzy at best and before long the thing was out of his range entirely.

Marco frowned for a moment, but let the thought slip away. It wasn't bothering them, at least not yet. It could wait.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Phoenix's Voyage: Day Two<em>**

"A broadsword would be better for that sort of situation! You want as much power as you can put into a strike so you can take your opponent out quickly!" Suigetsu shouted, making a motion of swinging a broadsword to demonstrate his point as he stood a few feet away from Tashigi in the kitchen of the vessel.

"And what happens if your opponent's more durable than you thought, and can tank your blows? You have to wear them down and strike quickly and efficiently, hitting their weak points as much as you can!" Tashigi argued, putting her fists on her hips with a huff as she glared at him through the lenses of her glasses.

"That's the argument you make on the katana's behalf every single time we have this debate!"

Karin, Vivi and Carue walked into the room just in time to hear Suigetsu yell the last few words as he threw his hands into the air, and Tashigi respond by crossing her arms and sticking her tongue out at him.

"You're just mad because you know I'm right," she taunted.

"_Excuse me!?" _Suigetsu snapped, reaching for the blade attached to his back.

"You heard me! I have years of Marine training and that means knowing what kinds of blades work best!" Tashigi shouted back, grabbing the hilt of her katana.

"Both of you, _QUIET!" _Karin interrupted, slamming her hand onto the table as hard as she could to get their attention.

Suigetsu and Tashigi simultaneously released their weapons as they turned to Karin, the tension that had previously been there deciding that it hadn't signed up for this nonsense and going to take a vacation to see if it could mess with the tattered remains of Team Seven.

After a moment of silence, tears began forming in Karin's eyes, and she began blowing on her hand, apparently having hit the table too hard as Vivi began trying to usher her towards the sink to put cold water on it, and Carue began running around in a quacking panic.

"…Truce until we get on land?" Suigetsu offered with a sweatdrop.

"…Sounds like a plan," Tashigi agreed, her expression matching his own.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Phoenix's Voyage: Day Three<em>**

Perona twirled her hair with one of her fingers as she and Jugo stood on the side of the ship, leaning against the railing and watching the scene before them. Aisa had declared her intent to get stronger so she wouldn't have to be afraid of the shinobi that populated the vast majority of this world, and so Bepo and Paulie were teaching her the basics of combat. Combined with her Observation Haki, she was proving to be an incredibly fast learner and a very good student, and was making outstanding progress.

"She's a cute kid, isn't she?" Jugo asked after a moment, looking over at Perona.

Perona huffed, tapping her foot against the deck. She had decided not to float around for a change, not wanting to risk the ship moving out from underneath her at an inopportune moment.

"What, am I not cute enough for you?" she teased with a childish pout.

Jugo yelped and waved his hands back and forth in front of himself, his face becoming an interesting shade of red. "N-No, that's – I didn't mean that – you're –" he fumbled over his words for a few more minutes before just hanging his head in defeat.

"_Horohorohorohoro~!" _Perona laughed in amusement, ruffling his hair while it was low enough for her to do so. "Don't worry, I'm not mad," she smiled. "It's really too fun to tease you~" Jugo muttered under his breath, looking away in shame, prompting her to laugh again.

At that moment, a stray rope that Paulie was using to help Aisa practice dodging and countering flew their way, hitting Perona square in the forehead and dazing her as the force sent her tumbling over the railing and into the ocean below with a splash.

The sound caused Jugo to immediately snap out of his miniature trance. "Perona!" he called out, leaping over the railing into the waves below with a loud splash. His shout caught the attention of just about everyone on board the ship, and they got to work slowing the ship as much as they could when Bepo alerted them about what had happened.

Jugo swam through the water, squinting – it was dark, hard to see, but he absolutely could _not_ let the conditions beat him. _If only there were a way he could swim faster..._ He pushed himself harder, forcing himself, shifting into a cursed state…

Perona forced her eyes open even as she felt her strength leaving her, and vaguely processed that some sort of aquatic creature was swimming towards her. Was it a sea king…? No, those were native to her world, and unless one had been sent here… besides, it was much too small to be one.

The thought had barely formed when the creature got close enough, and she noticed a splash of orange on its head. Everything became clear in that moment, and when she felt something fin-like on her back and under her legs, she summoned all the strength she had to push herself into the form that owned those fins. She felt water moving around her, and the area getting brighter, and brighter, the form of a ship becoming more and more clear…

A _splash, _and as clarity fully returned, she processed that she was no longer _in _the water, but a few feet above it. As her strength returned, she moved her head around, and it took her a moment to process everything that she was seeing. The ship, about twenty feet away, and moving rather slowly as Paulie threw a rope their way. The water, that was below her.

And Jugo, who had changed his features to resemble an aquatic monster of sorts and was standing on top of the water, carrying her in his arms, bridal style. The rope that Paulie threw landed over his shoulder, and Perona lifted one of her hands to take hold of it, still shaking off the remains of the weakness from the sea. Paulie pulled it taught, and Jugo began walking along the water, using the rope as a guide to pull them back over to the ship.

Before long, the two were safely on board, Jugo was back to normal, and both were wrapped in towels and had been provided with a hot drink. Most of the crew had gone to get the ship moving at a decent pace again, but Sakura and Marco had remained with them to make sure they were all right. But, as both Perona and Jugo noticed, the two weren't really paying any attention to what the two of them were talking about – instead having a conversation about, from what they understood, Sakura's training under one 'Tsunade'.

"…Jugo," Perona spoke after a moment, looking over at him as she held her towel tightly around her body.

"…Yes, Perona?" Jugo responded, turning his head to look her in the eyes.

"How did you know that people who've eaten Devil Fruits can't swim?" she asked.

Jugo blinked a few times, before his face flushed slightly and he glanced away. "…I, er, didn't," he admitted. "I heard the splash, and I acted without thinking."

Perona allowed herself to smile, and gently leaned on Jugo, startling him for a moment. "Thanks. For saving me."

Jugo blinked a few times, then smiled and wrapped an arm around her. "Of course. You're my precious person."

Sakura and Marco glanced over, smiling at the two. "I think I'm going to go figure out how best to teach you guys Armament Haki, yoi," Marco smiled as he made his way towards the crow's nest.

"I, um, I'm going to go... iron my kunai?" Sakura attempted to come up with a decent excuse, but then just gave up on even the pretense of doing so and stated, "To give you some alone time." With that, she darted off to go and find something that would allow them to have just that.

Perona and Jugo knew they were making excuses, of course – but neither of them really cared, and they silently thanked the two for leaving them alone together.

* * *

><p><em>Again, sorry for the delay. Each and every time I sat down to write, I started doing something else. I'll try and be better about it next time.<em>

_-Ink_


	41. Chapter 41

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_GUESS WHO'S GOING ON A VACATION? IIII AAAAAMMMMM_

_So I'm throwing an update at you guys before I go. Hope you like it!_

Chapter Forty-One

Tsunade had just finished doing her paperwork for the day when Kakashi arrived in her office, through the door for a change, looking exhausted and frustrated in more ways than one. After a moment taken to process the scene before them, Shizune pulled up a chair, and the man plopped down in it, catching his breath. He suddenly looked about ten years older, the way his posture was so strangely telling of his current state. Tsunade stared at the man in thought, before motioning for Shizune to leave the two of them alone.

Tsunade gently moved the papers off to the side in an orderly stack before she rested her arms on the desk and stared at Kakashi. He was still composing himself, and based on his disheveled appearance he'd been running for several days nonstop, and had gone so far as to disregard such trivial matters as _moving tree branches out of his way_ and _keeping his clothing in one piece_. That was… unusual for the man, which meant that something had happened, and she wasn't sure if she liked what that theory suggested.

She'd sent Kakashi, Sai and Naruto to catch up with Sakura and her group to get a gauge on their progress, and determine what truth there was to the claim that Root had made about said group running into Sasuke. Based on his posture and current state of being, something had happened, and she needed to know what it was. But the man was still exhausted, so she would give him the time he needed. At least he was reporting straight to her and not waiting until the morning, or something equally as idiotic.

Kakashi finally composed himself enough to look like a shinobi again, then looked up at Tsunade with a solemn yet serious expression. "Naruto has locked himself in his apartment, and Sai is reporting to Danzo," he simply stated, then lifted a hand to stop Tsunade from speaking so he could explain. "We found Sakura's group and confirmed that they'd encountered Sasuke, but despite hurrying to where they'd left him, there was no sign of him there. Chances are he's been taken captive by Akatsuki, and Naruto is frustrated that he failed to save him again, as well as the fact that Sakura seems to have given up on him."

"Sakura has…?" Tsunade frowned. That seemed strange of her. The last she'd heard, Sakura was just as determined to bring Sasuke back to Konoha as Naruto was, so to hear that she'd given up on him was… jarring, to say the least. She rested her chin on her hands, staring Kakashi down. "And Sai? Why is he reporting to Danzo?"

Kakashi rubbed his head. "Marco and Edward are the same person."

"I know," Tsunade glared at him. If that was the only reason… "He explained and showed that to us. He was hit by a jutsu meant for one of his clients that turned him into a phoenix."

Kakashi looked to the ground, muttering. "I was afraid of that," he groaned. Tsunade blinked a few times, staring at him and motioning for him to elaborate. "Their group had expanded when we ran into them. They'd picked up a lot of the people they were looking for, said there were two left to find. But, when I wondered what jutsu he'd been hit by…" Kakashi stared her dead in the eyes. "One of their companions spoke up, and she started saying something about him eating something, before two of the others cut her off by covering her mouth. She corrected herself to say 'a fruit that was a test to see if jutsu could be transferred through food' or something along those lines, but even if that _were _possible, it doesn't match up with the story we were initially given."

"So you think that he's lying?" Tsunade asked.

"I think he's not being entirely truthful," Kakashi responded.

Tsunade rubbed her temples. Sakura was the one who'd given them most of their information on the strange man who was able to turn into a phoenix, which meant that either Marco had been lying to her when he told her, or she already knew about the entire situation and had some reason to keep it from them. She wasn't sure which potential situation was worse, especially since she couldn't get a good read off of Marco - he held a generally calm and level atmosphere around himself that almost made him feel lazy, but there was always something just beneath the surface that she could never quite pin. Having something like that as an enemy... "So what do you think we should do? We need to locate them before we even do anything."

"They're heading towards the Land of Water," Kakashi informed her. "We told them that one of the people they're looking for might be there, so they'll have to head over that way to find them."

Tsunade nodded. "…Get some rest, then assemble a team to confront them. You'll be leaving as soon as you're ready."

Kakashi nodded, then made his way out of the room. It was only once he was out and the door was closed that Tsunade pressed her fingers into her desk with enough force to pierce it from frustration due to this new development.

* * *

><p>The large white bird soared down towards the waves below, flapping its wings a few times for stability as it got closer and closer to the waves. Once it was only a few feet above the water, it leveled out and glided into a cove hidden by the rock formations that surrounded it from all angles aside from a small portion of the sea. With another wing beat, the bird moved deeper into the cove, touching down on the stone that marked where it ceased being a cove and began being a cave. A man with blond hair that covered one eye and was tied into a high ponytail dressed in a black cloak with red clouds hopped off of the bird's back. The bird itself, acting surprisingly animalistic for an animated chakra construct, ruffled its feathers and tucked its head into its wing, apparently sleeping while it waited for its creator to return. The man in question walked deeper into the cave, where several other figures dressed in the same outfit were waiting.<p>

The blond skimmed over his fellow Akatsuki members. Kisame, Itachi, Konan, Leader, Tobi, and Zetsu. Now that he was here, they were all assembled.

"Deidara," Leader greeted him, motioning for him to join the small semi-circle that they'd formed to discuss matters while awaiting his return. It vaguely resembled the formation that they would use while communicating over wide distances, and it would be almost nostalgic if it weren't for the fact that they had business to attend to. Deidara moved over to them at a brisk pace, looking over the assembled party with an overdramatic flair.

"Where's the baggage, un?" he asked with a slick smile, largely directing the comment at Itachi.

"…Sasuke is not baggage," the Uchiha muttered under his breath in response. "As far as where my brother _is_, he's over there."

Itachi lifted a finger and pointed to the man in question, who had distanced himself from the group as much as possible. Sasuke, who'd been sitting cross-legged and facing the wall, turned to look over his shoulder at the group. He offered them nothing more than a glare and a _'hmph'_ before turning to the wall again.

Deidara couldn't help but allow his face to slip into a smirk at Sasuke's behavior and directed the smirk at his back, to the point that he almost didn't notice Konan shaking her head in disappointment. "He's been like that ever since he was denied the chance to… how did he put it… _'kill his brother and take revenge for his clan'._"

Tobi began bouncing up and down, raising his hand into the air like a student in a classroom might. "Oh, oh! Tobi knows the answer!"

"There was never a question-" Konan started to say, but Tobi cut her off.

"He's also grumpy because we told him the truth behind what happened, and he feels like his _whooooole _life is a lie now!" Tobi made no attempt to hide the pure glee in his tone, and Itachi pinched his brow while Sasuke almost seemed to gain a visible aura of depression and anger in his secluded section of the cave.

"_Moving on_," Leader clapped his hands together to bring focus back to himself, using a tone that demanded no further nonsense. "Deidara. What did you discover?"

"They picked up a few more people since Zetsu ran into them, un." Sasuke perked up at the implication. "A little girl with wings, and some blond shipwright. They seem to be heading towards the Land of Water."

"Were you seen?" Zetsu asked, and Deidara shook his head.

"I kept at least a hundred feet back, and used-" he tapped the scope hidden under his bangs, "-to get a look at them through. The pineapple-haired bird man might have noticed _something_, but the second I saw him start looking around I backed off enough that he figured it was nothing."

At this point, Sasuke had gotten to his feet and turned to face the Akatsuki. "Sakura's group? You're interested in _Sakura's _group?" he scowled, anger etched into his body. "Why would you be interested in people like _that?!"_

"Because they're an unknown," Kisame grinned a shark-like grin. "They appeared out of nowhere, and their small ripple has caused a tsunami of reactions throughout the continent." Deidara had to hand it to him, he'd gone all out with the water metaphor.

"Their very presence has been doing things to people, making them react in different ways than they would have if those people hadn't been here," Zetsu grinned. "**For instance. If they hadn't run into you, you would still have the other three members of your 'group' by your side, and be well on your way to killing your precious big brother, wouldn't you?**"

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, before he realized that Zetsu was right. Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo had left his side because of Sakura and her traveling companions. Not to mention, based on what they had said, they had only run into him because of Tashigi, who was likely from the same place that they were. If it hadn't been for that – or even, if it hadn't been for the fact that they picked up Tashigi – then the rest of Hebi would still be at his side. But that still raised the question of what kind of people they were, and where they were from, that they were able to do the sorts of things they did.

"Exactly," Leader said, turning to face Sasuke. "We did not want you to face your brother because you have dealt with these people in person." Sasuke's head snapped towards Leader, who turned to look at Zetsu.

"How about this?" Zetsu's mouth split in a grin. "**Tell us everything that you can about them, and we'll let you come with when we go to face them.**"

Sasuke needed no further incentive.

* * *

><p><em>"The Incident With The Rope And The Sea",<em> as Aisa had creatively dubbed it, had brought Perona and Jugo closer to one another. The two spent most of their time together, whether it was training together, enjoying meals together, or just chatting amongst themselves, they were just generally making the best of each other's company.

It was this that brought the two of them to the Phoenix's deck, each carrying a bag behind their backs.

Perona moved hers out first, holding it out to Jugo, who responded by blinking a few times and doing the same thing with his own. They exchanged bags, each taking a moment to register what had just happened.

"You got me a…" Perona looked up at Jugo, who nodded in response.

"When we were in town, and you were showing me that one store… I said I was going to the bathroom, but in actuality I was getting that for you," Jugo looked away awkwardly. "When did you…"

"_Horohorohorohoro~ _Around the same time, actually," Perona smiled. "When you went to do that, I went ahead and picked that out for you."

Jugo blinked a few times, then nodded and motioned to her bag. "Well… go ahead."

Perona paused, then silently reached into her bag and produced an umbrella with a polar bear charm hanging from the handle. She set the bag down and opened the umbrella, examining it thoroughly – the umbrella was embellished to look like a ferocious black bear. Perona gasped, and had to physically restrain herself from squeeing before she wrapped her arms around Jugo. "Oh, thank you! I love it!" she exclaimed, before releasing him and moving backwards so that he could open his gift, all the while twirling her new umbrella and resting it on her shoulder.

Jugo nodded, taking the hint and carefully removing his gift from the bag he'd been given. It seemed to be a mass of black cloth, but as he held it up to get a better look at it, it unfolded into a black cloak with angel wings that resembled Aisa's on the back. Jugo opened his mouth, gaping at the cloak he held in his hands, before slowly removing the one already around his neck and replacing it with the one he'd just been given. The wings rested perfectly on his shoulder blades, and the cloak was just long enough that it covered his whole body but wouldn't get caught on the floor and torn when he walked.

He found himself unable to form words, instead responding by pulling Perona into a hug of his own. Perona responded by returning the hug, and the two remained there, arms wrapped around the other and allowing their mutual warmth to spread between them.

"_YOI!" _Marco's voice called down from the crow's nest, and the two quickly pulled away from one another when they realized how long they'd been embracing each other. But when they looked up at him, they found he wasn't looking their way – but rather, ahead of the ship. Taking this as a cue, the two picked up the discarded bags to properly dispose of them, then moved up to the front of the ship where the figurehead was to see what the fuss was all about.

And see it they did – a mass of land had appeared on the horizon before them.

"Land ho!" Marco called out from the crow's nest. "The Land of Water is in sight!"

* * *

><p><em>AND SO, THE THREADS OF THE PLOT ARE STARTING TO BE PULLED! ...yes, we have a plot, apparently. WHO KNEW<em>

_-Ink_


	42. Chapter 42

_**Ink's Notes:**_

_EEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYY- what do you __**mean **__it's been like four months?! Son of a-_

Chapter Forty-Two

As the Phoenix approached the shores to the Land of Water, its crew found that the shore they were approaching was surprisingly barren of incoming ships – every ship aside from theirs had navigated away from the coast that they were approaching and found another place to dock, despite that the area they were sailing towards would be the best place to dock to get them on shore. The fact that so many ships were going out of their way to dock there was strange in and of itself, but when Aisa spoke up and mentioned that she was hearing a voice underwater, the entire crew got themselves ready to fight what they believed would be a sea king.

The waters parted with nothing more than a small _splash_ and a _"isn't that too small to be a sea king?" _comment from Tashigi, and some sort of brown otter-like creature wearing what appeared to be a green hooded vest of some sort emerged from the waves, landing on its hind fin on the shores before them.

"Kupo!" the creature called up, striking a battle pose upwards at the ship.

"…Yoi?" Marco managed to respond after a moment, staring down at the animal with a dumbfounded expression that he was sure everyone else had at that exact moment.

"A kung-fu dugong!" Vivi exclaimed, leaning over the railing in shock. The dugong began making various movements while giving off various cries, finishing by crossing its arms in a prideful stance.

"…It says that if we want to dock here, we have to beat it in a fight. If we don't want to take its challenge, we should just go dock somewhere else," Jugo translated. "Also, it called us wimps," he added, looking over at Vivi. "You seem to know what that thing is. Is this normal?"

Vivi nodded sadly. "They're quite strong, and their code of honor states that they have to become the follower of anyone who manages to beat them."

"Works for me, yoi," Marco vaulted over the railing and landed on the shores across from the dugong. "It'll follow us when I beat it, which makes our lives easier."

"Be careful, Marco!" Vivi called from the ship's railing. "Kung-fu dugongs are very strong!"

No sooner than she'd said the words had Marco beaten the small creature, causing it to stare up at him with stars in its eyes from admiration. "You were saying?" Sakura asked Vivi.

"…I suppose if Luffy-San didn't have much difficulty beating them, Marco would be able to do it with ease…" she muttered in response.

The crew disembarked the ship, Sakura treating the few wounds that the dugong had, and gathered around to sit on the shoreline and discuss their next step. Before they could, though, the dugong hopped over to Vivi and began chattering excitedly at her, which Jugo helpfully translated as _'You're one of my old master's students, aren't you?' _

Vivi blinked a few times in response before she realized what was happening. "Oh- This kung-fu dugong must be one of the ones that Luffy-San tamed when we were in Alabasta," she explained, patting the creature on the head. "They helped us out quite a bit during that whole ordeal."

"Y'know," Karin spoke up, "They might make good coastal defenders," she suggested, and with those few words, she and Vivi had begun discussing Alabasta's defenses.

"…Right, ignoring that," Paulie deadpanned, "We should head into town before we make tracks for Konoha," he stated. "While we have enough supplies to get us across the sea safely, we shouldn't chance making the journey without replenishing supplies. You never know when we'll run out due to unforeseen circumstances, like someone eating all the food when no one's looking, and it's better to be overstocked than under stocked when you're traveling across the sea."

"Yeah," Bepo put in, "And the more time we spend here, the more time the guys in Konoha have to find us a way home," he offered with a smile. "So if we head into the… um…" he looked over at Jugo.

"Kirigakure," Jugo informed him.

"…That. If we head into that, then we can give them more time to find out how to send us home," Bepo concluded.

"…We still need to figure out how to get _us_ through with you as well," Sakura frowned. "I mean… I don't think it'll be _too _big a deal to send Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo with you guys, since they're Missing-Nin and most people would… well…" she fidgeted.

"Want us gone?" Suigetsu flatly provided.

"…Yeah," Sakura frowned, clearly not happy about having to say such a thing about her friends. "They'd be more than happy to see you guys go, but me…"

Marco pat her on the head with a smile. "Don't worry, yoi. I've figured that out already. So you've decided to join the Whitebeard Pirates, huh?"

Sakura smiled at him. "Yes, I have."

Perona and Carue quickly covered Tashigi's mouth before she could make any attempts at protesting to this development, and she eventually stopped trying to yell about the whole ordeal. She frowned, huffed, and crossed her arms.

"Um, Tashigi?" Aisa asked her, looking up at her as she held her hands in her lap. "Why do you hate pirates so much?"

Tashigi grimaced. "Pirates are the scum of the seas. They do nothing but hurt others, and destroy peoples' homes and steal their belongings and kill people and-" she cut herself off and looked at the ground. "And working for the Marines, I see all sorts of people getting hurt because of Pirates, and I see how many people suffer, and it's painful to watch."

"But… not all pirates are like that," Aisa frowned. "My home was saved by pirates."

Tashigi bit her lip and nodded. "…Pirates like that are… they're the exception. It's… hard for me to admit when I see pirates hurting people all the time, but…" She brought her hands to her knees. "The Marines… they hurt people, too," she softly said. Carue quacked and put a wing on her back to comfort her. "And I want to help everyone, and keep everyone safe, but I can't do that when neither side is completely in the right… I'm a Marine because they're right most of the time, but the things that I've seen Marines do, it's… it makes my resolve waver."

"Hey," Marco spoke up. "You should stay a Marine, yoi." Tashigi's head snapped up in confusion, and he elaborated. "If someone like you stays in the Marines, and teaches other people what you've come to realize, then more people would be safe, because the focus would be on the actual threats, instead of the people who aren't hurting anyone, whether they're a Pirate, a Marine, or something else entirely, yoi."

Tashigi blinked a few times, then smiled with newfound resolve. "Understood, though I don't like taking orders from a pirate."

"Well, you're taking orders from your temporary captain, yoi," Marco smirked as he got to his feet. "Now then. How about we head to Kirigakure?"

* * *

><p><em>Sorry for the massive delay! I've honestly just had major writer's block this whole time. But I was just on a plane for like seven hours and had nothing else to do so I buckled down to get some writing done. See you next time! -Ink<em>


End file.
